Whangape was a cargo ship measured at, built in 1899 by Sir Raylton Dixon & Co., Middlesbrough.[1] The vessel was constructed for the British Maritime Trust as Adriana, sold while on the slips to Elder, Dempster & Company and renamed Asaba.[2] Her engine was built by T Richardson & Sons, Hartlepool.[3]
"Whangape" (pronounced: fun gah' pay) is a Māori word meaning "waiting for the inside of the pipi."[4] The pipi is a bivalve mollusk native to New Zealand. Whangape was also the sister ship to SS Mont-Blanc, the munitions vessel under French registry that collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo