Traffic had outstripped the capacity of the corporation's hitherto largest lake steamer SS Coya (546 tons) and ageing Yavari and Yapura.

[2] Earle's Shipbuilding of Kingston upon Hull on the Humber in England built Inca as a "knock down" ship;[2] that is, they assembled her in their shipyard with bolts and nuts, marked each part with a number and then disassembled her into many hundreds of pieces and then sent her to Peru in kit form.

The pieces were shipped by sea to South America and then by rail to Lake Titicaca,[2] where Inca was finally riveted together and launched.

[2] Traffic continued to increase, so in 1929, the corporation ordered an even larger ship from Earle's, SS Ollanta, to work along with the Inca.

[2] In 1975, the Peruvian Corporation was nationalised and Inca's ownership passed to the state railway company ENAFER.