"One of the worst losses of New Zealand lives at sea during the First World War occurred on the Union Company’s Aparima in 1917. When built for the Calcutta run in 1902, this ship had been the company's biggest. But it was no flyer. At 11-12 knots (20–22 km/hr) fully laden, the Aparima was usually the slowest ship in a troop convoy. One unhappy soldier, Sergeant J. Wilson, called it ‘a hell ship with some very poor officers’.

In 1912 the Aparima had become the fleet’s officer cadet training ship, providing up to 50 cadets at a time with seagoing experience in a working cargo steamer. After war broke out, it made several voyages with troops and horses before being requisitioned again by the British authorities. As these duties would keep the ship in war zones for much of the time, the Union Company allowed cadets’ parents to withdraw their sons. Fourteen did so, but other cadets continued to sail on troop runs to the UK.

On the night of 18/19 November 1917, the Aparima was sailing to a Welsh port for coaling when a torpedo fired by the German submarine UB-40 slammed into its stern. The ship shuddered, then sank rapidly. Of the 115 men aboard – a mix of European officers, Lascar (Indian) crew and cadets – 55 were lost, including 17 of the 28 cadets."

[https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/merchant-marine/agony-on-aparima]