At 05.56 hours on 17 Mar, 1943, U-600 (Zurmühlen) fired a spread of four FAT torpedoes at the convoy HX-229 southeast of Cape Farewell and observed a hit amidships on the Nariva in station #91 and two on the Irénée Du Pont in station #81. A further detonation was heard, this was the hit on the Southern Princess in station #72, which caught fire and sank during the morning. At 05.58 hours, the stern torpedo was fired and was seen to hit another freighter amidships, which sank after 10 minutes, but this can not be confirmed from Allied sources.
At 08.39 hours the same day, U-91 fired a spread of three torpedoes at some ships behind the convoy and noted two hits, one on a moving freighter and the other on a burning ship. These hits finished off Nariva and Irénée Du Pont and their sinking in 51°05N/33°55W was observed by U-91 in the afternoon and reported at 16.08 hours by a radio message.

HMS Mansfield (G 76) (LtCdr L.C. Hill, OBE, RNR) and HMS Anemone (K 48) (LtCdr P.G.A. King, RNR) had tried to scuttle the Nariva (Master Bernard Cyril Dodds) by gunfire after the corvette picked up the master, 86 crew members and seven gunners.