SS Omrah was an ocean liner

Ocean liner

An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...

 for the Orient Steam Navigation Company

Orient Steam Navigation Company

The Orient Steam Navigation Company, also known as the Orient Line, was a British shipping company with roots going back to the late 18th century...

 built in 1899 for passenger service between the United Kingdom and Australia. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the ship was taken over for use as a troopship

Troopship

A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...

. On 12 May 1918, while headed from Marseilles to Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

, Omrah was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine 40 nautical miles (74.1 km) from Sardinia

Sardinia

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

. One person aboard Omrah died in the attack.