M.S. ARAMIS was completed as a passenger-cargo ship for Messageries-Maritimes in 1932. Her appearance was unusual in the fact that her funnels were square-shaped. In the 1930s, she saw passenger service on Messageries-Maritimes' Marseilles-Far East route. From 1939 to 1942, she was used as an Allied armed merchant cruiser. In April, 1942, the Japanese seized ARAMIS in Saigon and renamed her TEIA MARU. She was used as a diplomatic exchange and repatriation vessel. Later, she was used to transport Allied prisoners of war. In August 1944, TEIA MARU was torpedoed and sunk by an American submarine off Luzon, Philippines.