SS Delphic was an ocean liner of the White Star Line, built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast and completed on 15 May 1897.

For twenty years, her service on this route was uneventful, with the exception of troop transport missions during the Second Boer War.

It did not go into the business alone as the service was joint with Shaw, Savill & Albion Line which had a good knowledge of the region while its partner brought significant financial resources.

[5] Upon her delivery in May 1897 to White Star Line, it was decided to give Delphic's machinery a run in with several voyages on the Atlantic, as such her maiden voyage began on 17 June between Liverpool and New York, she made two round trips across the Atlantic before entering service on her intended route between London and Wellington on 3 October 1897.

She was requisitioned on 31 March 1900 to transport 1,200 soldiers from London to Cape Town as part of the Second Boer War, after which she continued her service on the route to New Zealand.

[4] On 16 August 1917, Delphic was torpedoed and sunk by the Imperial German Navy submarine UC-72 135 miles (217 km) from Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (48°30′N 9°10′W / 48.500°N 9.167°W / 48.500; -9.167), during a coal transport voyage from Cardiff, Wales, to Montevideo, Uruguay.