One of several new buildings in 1929, she was notable as being the first motorship of Blue Star Lines. Designed especially for the the carriage of chilled and frozen meat. In 1932 the Ottawa Conference agreement gave free entry for Dominion imports into the United Kingdom. This caused difficulties with the South American trade and the company decided to enter the Australian & New Zealand trades. As a result, the Tuscan Star made the first Blue Star Line voyage from New Zealand, sailing from Wellington on the 2nd December 1933, with a full cargo for the UK. It was the start of a long association of Blue Star Line with Australia and New Zealand.

The Tuscan Star was in action early in the war while under the command of Captain Owen Conder Roberts, who, as Captain of the Australia Star in 1946, was awarded the C.B.E. for long and meritorious service in the Merchant Navy.

At 03.55 p.m. on December 17^th 1939, while in the English Channel off Folkestone, the ship was suddenly attacked by a German aircraft with bombs and machine-guns. No bombs hit, thanks to Captain Roberts' zigzagging, though one missed and exploded within 20 feet. The aircraft made three direct attacks lasting over nearly 20 minutes, and flying very low raked the ship fore and aft with machine-guns, to which the Tuscan Star's gunners replied with their 12-pounder. The Bridge wireless-room, boat deck and after gun platform were all hit by bullets, and Mr. T. Porteous, the Second Wireless Officer, was severely wounded in the right leg. But for the Captain's evasive action and the ship's gunfire, the casualties would probably have been much heavier.

On September 6^th 1942, by which date the last of the Viking Star's survivors were in safety, the Tuscan Star, then commanded by Captain Edgar Norton Rhodes, was on her homeward voyage from Buenos Aires by way of Santos, Brazil, and Freetown. She carried 25 passengers and a crew of 88, with a heavy cargo, including 7,300 tons of frozen meat. At about 9.0 p.m., when steaming north at 13.5 knots in a position about 270 miles south of where the Viking Star  had been sunk about 12 days before, she was suddenly torpedoed twice in quick succession on the starboard side, once in the engine-room and again in Number 5 hold.

The ship immediately started to settle rapidly by the stern and listed heavily over to starboard. Orders were at once given to abandon ship, and all boats except the motor-boat, which had been badly damaged by the explosion, were lowered, manned, and away from the ship in about 10 minutes. The ship took the final plunge and disappeared about four minutes later.

Soon afterwards the  U-109  surfaced, put a small searchlight on the lifeboats, and an English-speaking officer interrogated the survivors, asking the usual questions, as to the name of the ship, what cargo she carried, where from and whither bound. The submarine came back later, her officer saying that they had rescued Mr. Gill, the Second Radio Officer, from the water and intended retaining him as a prisoner. The Germans, noticing women and children among the survivors, ordered the Third Officer's boat alongside, and passed down some tinned provisions. "I am sorry," he said,” but I have to do my duty." The U-boat then gathered way and disappeared into the darkness.

A little later the Third Officer reported his boat was leaking badly and that he had no room to bale her out, whereupon he was ordered to transfer the women and children to the Captain's boat. The boats lay round the scene of the wreck during the night in good weather, but with a fairly heavy southerly swell. Some of the passengers and crew were seasick; but at six o'clock next morning all three boats set sail, steering north in a fair southerly breeze and making good about three knots. The swell persisted; but recovering from their seasickness, the occupants were all given their rations of water, pemmican, biscuits, chocolate and malted milk tablets. In the afternoon of that second day, September 7th, Captain Rhodes lost sight of the boats in charge of the Chief and Third Officer.

Except for the-inevitable discomfort and occasional squalls with some showers of rain, the voyage of the Captain's boat was uneventful. However, they were happy when at about 03.00 p.m. they sighted a large steamer coming up from the southward, and altered course to cut her off. They were duly sighted and picked up by the Orient Liner Otranto, employed on Government service, at about 04.30, reaching Freetown the next afternoon and Liverpool on September 25^th.

The other boats also reached safety, though nine men had been lost when the Tuscan Star was torpedoed.