The turbine steamer Arandora was built for the Blue Star Line by Cammell Laird's of Birkenhead and launched in January 1927. Originally registered at 12,847 gross tons, she was intended for Blue Star's South American service to La Plata but when it became apparent that there was too much capacity on that route, she was refitted as a cruise liner in 1928-29. Renamed Arandora Star, she began her new career in June 1929 with a cruise to Norway and, painted white after 1931, cruised successfully until requisitioned as an experimental ship for anti-torpedo nets in December 1939. In May 1940 she was released for duty as a troop transport and, on 1 July that year, left Liverpool for Canada carrying 1,178 German and Italian internees and prisoners-of-war, together with 430 crew and a military guard. The following morning, 75 miles off the north-west coast of Ireland, she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-47 and sunk one hour later with the loss of 761 people.