A dispute persists between modern Germany, Latvia, and Russia regarding the wreck’s status. Latvian historians argue that because the ship carried such a high number of Latvian refugees, the site should be designated a war grave. Russian authorities maintain that as a vessel carrying retreating enemy combatants and operating under a false or ambiguous flag, the SS Lilu was a legitimate military target.
: Common in the 19th and early 20th centuries during the transition from wind to steam power. ss lilu