TEV Wahine was a twin-screw, turbo-electric, roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry. Ordered in 1964, the vessel was built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland for the Union Steam Ship Company's Wellington-Lyttelton Steamer Express Service in New Zealand.
The Wahine began transporting passengers on day and overnight trips on New Zealand's inter-island route between the ports of Wellington and Lyttelton in 1966. The Wahine was permitted to carry a maximum of 1,100 passengers on day trips, or 927 berthed passengers on overnight trips.