 To replace shipping tonnage lost to German submarines during World War I, the British Shipping Controller sought newly built ships from American shipyards. As part of 700,000 long tons (710,000 t) of shipping which had been ordered by March 1917, an order for nine vessels of 8,800 long tons deadweight (DWT) was placed with J. F. Duthie & Company of Seattle. Because the United States had not yet entered World War I, the Shipping Controller, to skirt neutrality laws, placed orders through various British shipping companies. Although the specific company that placed the order with Duthie is not reported in secondary sources, the company most often used for these orders was the Cunard Steamship Company. As one of the nine ships ordered, J. F. Duthie & Company laid down the keel of War Topaz as the eleventh ship begun at their shipyard.
