The Josephine was built in 1868 in Szczecin (Poland) which was named Stettin at that time and was part of the Prussian Kingdom. The steamship was first named SS Sultan, later Deutscher Kaiser and in 1913 it was finally renamed to Josephine.
The ship was owned by the Austro-Americana Shipping Company and sailed under the Austrian flag. The company specialised in passenger services from Trieste for Messina, Naples, Palermo and New York started and was founded in 1904.
On November 17th 1915 it hit a mine while it was on its way to Trieste, Italy. The explosion caused Josephine to brake apart in two pieces and sink.
Six men were saved, one killed and seven people were counted as missing. The Captain caused the ship to hit the mine by making an error in assessing the distance to the minefield, of which’s existence he knew.
The Josephine now lies on a depth of about 40 meters and parts of her can be entered from above for the ship sank with the front side down and is partly in an upright position. The wreck is inhabited by sea sponges, algae and fishes.
