SS Imo was a steamship that served in passenger and freight trades and later as a whaling supply ship. Christened SS Runic, she was bought, sold and renamed numerous times during her career. In 1917, Imo was under Norwegian registry chartered by the Belgian Relief Commission to bring supplies to war-ravaged Europe. On 6 December, she was involved in a collision in Halifax Harbour with a French munitions vessel, SS Mont-Blanc, laden with a full cargo of highly volatile explosives.