These things happen. Technically you are in the wrong and you could expect a court martial - but historically the Kriegsmarine didn't like putting their own captains on trial for only doing their jobs. Exclusion zones were set up - and later in the war neutral nations (like America) were warned not to sail into certain areas - and that their safety could not be guaranteed if they did so. Legally - this isn't really enough to comply with the Geneva conventions and other rules of war - but that was what they had to go by - and U-boat commanders were told to sink darkened ships within the exlusion zone - or those zig-zagging for example.
What were the weather conditions/visibility? You should argue they were carrying contraband to an enemy power and were within the exclusion zone - and in poor weather you thought their flag to be that of an enemy nation!
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