At 10.25 hours on 9 Sep 1942 the unescorted Peiping (Master F. Svenselius) was sighted and identified by U-66 in the Sargasso Sea about 750 miles northeast of Barbuda. Markworth decided to sink the vessel because her neutrality markings were not illuminated and she was not on the list of ships registered for trading with neutral countries. The ship stopped and developed a slight list after being hit by one of two torpedoes at 15.28 hours. The torpedo struck on the starboard side in the engine room and killed three men on watch below. After the crew abandoned ship in three lifeboats, the U-boat fired two coups de grâce at 16.01 hours. One torpedo malfunctioned, but the other hit and caused her to sink after 20 minutes. The Germans then took the master and chief engineer aboard for questioning and returned them to the lifeboats after one hour. The survivors made landfall on a Caribbean island after sailing for one arduous week.