In 1984, it was renamed Rainbow Hope and leased by a small startup company to serve a route between the United States and the American military base at Keflavik, Iceland.

As Rainbow Hope the ship was central in an international disagreement between the United States and Iceland that would span years, be compared by The Chicago Tribune to the plot of the movie The Mouse That Roared, and involve political personalities including Antonin Scalia, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ken Starr, Elizabeth Dole, George Shultz, and Ronald Reagan.

In 1999, it was bought by TransAtlantic Lines, renamed Geysir and put back on the U.S.–Iceland route, leading to further tensions between the United States and Iceland.

[7] The ship features a MAN B&W Diesel A/S 8L28/32A main engine with eight 280-millimetre (11 in) cylinders with a 320-millimetre (13 in) stroke for maximum continuous power of 1,961.98 kilowatts (2,631.06 hp) driving a bronze propeller.

[9][10][11] In 1983, the United States Maritime Administration took possession of the three ships after American Atlantic defaulted on Title XI[12] payments.

[14] Yonge submitted a bid quoting the same rates that the Icelandic companies were charging and invoked the Cargo Preference Act of 1904.

[15] The New York Times characterized the ensuing fight as Rainbow Navigation versus "the Navy, the National Security Council and the Departments of State, Defense, Justice and Transportation to the President himself.

"[18] During this time, Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole supported Rainbow, according to the Chicago Tribune, as a viable employer of United States mariners.

[19] Eight months later, the government took a different approach to solve its problem with Rainbow, in the form of the 1986 Treaty Between the United States of America and the Republic of Iceland to Facilitate Their Defense Relationship.

The United States Senate ratified the treaty one day before Reagan left for Reykjavik to attend a summit meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev.

[16] By May 1988, the court had issued a preliminary injunction halting the bidding process and ordering carriage be continued under the terms of the 1987 contracts.

[16] In addition to the almost non-stop succession of challenges related to the contracts on the U.S.–Iceland run, Rainbow Hope was involved in a few notable operational incidents.

The most notable of these involves a labor strike that prevented Rainbow Hope from discharging cargo, keeping the vessel at anchor for 22 days.

[25] On 28 March 1996, the vessel had been sold to "owners in Jamaica" and the Coast Guard prevented the ship from receiving oil and proceeding from its berth until a valid certificate of financial responsibility could be provided.

[26] In late 1996, the ship was purchased by the company Noro of Haugesund, Norway under a 6,000,000 Norwegian krone (approximately $800,000 in 1998 U.S. dollars) mortgage by Sparebank 1 SR-Bank.

[32] Then an Icelandic citizen, educated in the United States, and having worked at Van Ommeren shipping for seven years, he was familiar with the route and its history.

Rose secured a million-dollar letter of credit from the State Bank of Long Island to back early operations.

[33] On 4 December 2000, members of the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office observed an accidental discharge of approximately 250 US gallons (950 L) of diesel fuel from one of Geysir's tank vents into the Elizabeth River.

[37] On 8 September 2006, with the Cold War well over, the United States ceremonially disestablished Naval Air Station Keflavik and its twenty-three tenant commands, a process begun that March.

[38] The closure marked the end of the 65-year military presence, the last 45 years of which coordinated under the United States Navy with activities of the National Guard, Air Force, and Army.

[40] This contract, serviced by the Geysir, is expected to be completed by 29 February 2012, and was a 100 percent Small Business Set Aside acquisition with two bids received.