ABSTRACT
The discussions between the High Commissioner and Jewish Agency representatives at the time of the Athina incident revealed that no further ships were expected to arrive for two or three months. This period coincided with an unsuccessful final attempt to bring Jews and Arab representatives together in London and secure agreement on Palestine’s future. The success of the Patrol in 1946 had been due very largely to good and timely information but the illegal immigrant organisations’ security was tightened, and during the winter the Joint Headquarters in Jerusalem found detailed intelligence more hard to come by: some of the sources were not to recover their full reliability until mid-May 1947. In November 1946, the 800-ton Italian motor barquentine Merica had been reported at Marseilles for conversion as an illegal immigrant vessel. On 17 January she moved to Séte and embarked migrants, the majority coming from two UNRRA camps in Bavaria. Every effort was made to persuade the French authorities to prevent the passengers, who held forged Cuban visas, departing on a voyage to a country where they would not be admitted. The Merica sailed giving her destination as Cuba, this was apparently believed and as air searches were not flown. There was no further warning of her approach until she encountered HMS Chieftain (Commander G.E. Fardell RN) unexpectedly after dark on 8 February.
