Juan Casiano was built at the William Doxford & Sons Ltd. shipyard inSunderland, United Kingdom in October 1919. Where she was launched and completed that same year. The ship was 131.1 metres (430 ft 1 in) long, had a beam of 16.9 metres (55 ft 5 in) and had a depth of 10.4 metres (34 ft 1 in). She was assessed at 7,064 GRT and had 1 x 3 cyl. triple expansion engine. The ship could generate 619 n.h.p. with a speed of 10 knots.[2]
Only one month after being built,Juan Casiano (then namedLinerton) had an engine breakdown as she was travelling from theRiver Tyne toBaltimore,Maryland,United States on 9 November 1919. This resulted in her running aground nearSouth Shields with no reported fatalities and she ultimately broke in two pieces. The bow was refloated on 6 April 1920 and the stern on 18 May 1920 after which both parts were towed toRotterdam,The Netherlands to be converted into a tanker under a new owner and under the new nameRadix.[3]
She changed hands once more before being sold to a new German owner Johann Haltermann in July 1939 which was accompanied by another name changeTine Asmussen. WhenWorld War II broke out a few months later, the newly acquired ship had the possibility of becoming targeted byAllied forces. This never became the case as she was seized by Mexico in 1940 and renamedJuan Casiano to serve under her new owner Petroleos Mexicanos S. A. (Mexican Government) for the upcoming four years.[2]
