Afon Alaw was a four-masted sailing ship which served from 1891 until 1918. She had a sister ship, Afon Cefni. Afon Alaw was built by Alexander Stephen and Sons at their yard in Glasgow for Hughes & Co based at Menai Bridge in Anglesey. The vessel was named for a river in Anglesey. The vessel remained in British service until 1915, moving between three owners before being sold to a Norwegian company which renamed the vessel Storebror. Norway was neutral during World War I, however the German surface raider SMS Wolf did not want its position known and sank Storebror on 4 January 1918 to prevent the Norwegian ship from disclosing it.