At 22.14 hours on 23 Feb 1943, U-382 (Juli) fired one FAT torpedo and one minute later a spread of two G7e torpedoes at convoy UC-1 south of the Azores. Juli thought that he sank two ships, but only one of these torpedoes struck the Empire Norseman on the starboard side and the tanker stopped.Between 22.17 and 22.20 hours on 23 February, U-202 (Poser) fired four torpedoes at convoy UC-1 and reported hits on three ships. The first and second hit the Murena and British Fortitude, which both continued, the third torpedo failed and the last hit the already damaged Empire Norseman on her port side. At 23.45 hours on 23 February, the drifting wreck of the Empire Norseman was sunk by a coup de grâce from U-558.

The master, 41 crew members and eleven gunners from the Empire Norseman (Master William Sharp Smith) were picked up by HMS Totland (Y 88) (LtCdr L.E. Woodhouse, RN), transferred to the Dutch steam merchant Maaskerk and landed at Trinidad.