Whangape was a cargo ship measured at 2,931 gross register tons (GRT), 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.

[3] "Whangape" (pronounced: fun gah' pay) is a Māori word meaning "waiting for the inside of the pipi.

Whangape was also the sister ship to SS Mont-Blanc, the munitions vessel under French registry that collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo on 6 December 1917 in Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada resulting in the devastating Halifax Explosion.

Whangape was sold in 1928 to Chun Young Zan (Moller & Co) and renamed SS Nanking.