USS Weehawken (CM-12) was originally SS Estrada Palma – a car ferry built in 1920 by William Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia. It was acquired by the United States Navy on 15 June 1942; renamed Weehawken on 18 July 1942; converted to a minelayer by the Bethlehem Steel Co. at Hoboken, New Jersey; designated CM-12; and commissioned on 30 September 1942.