The 2,500-ton steamship Woodville was built in 1892 for Woodville SS Co Ltd (Balls & Stansfield) of North Shields, England. She was then sold during World War I to the Southern Whaling and Sealing Company, Liverpool. She was one of three ships bought by the African and Eastern Trade Corporation in 1924. She was sold to Greek owners BJ Andreadakis & A Stavridis, (Piraeus) in 1927, shortly before African and Eastern merged with the Royal Niger Company to form United Africa Company (UAC).