Originally owned by Singapore's Keppel Corporation, she has had three owners, been registered under three flags, and been renamed ten times.

[9][11] During this charter, she carried everything from fresh food to building supplies to aircraft parts, delivering more than 200,000 tons of cargo to the island each year.

[11] After finishing the Diego Garcia contract, the ship sailed from Singapore on 19 November 2009 for a shipyard period in Wilmington, North Carolina by way of the Suez Canal.

[1][15] Its total carrying capacity in terms of weight, is 5,055 long tons deadweight (DWT), the equivalent of almost 170 Sherman tanks.

[1] As of 2011[update], the ship is classified by Det Norske Veritas with the code "1A1 General Cargo Carrier Container E0", meaning that it was constructed under the supervision of a recognized classification society, that the construction complies with the society's rules, that it is classed as a general cargo carrier and container ship, and that it is designed to be operated with unattended machinery spaces.

[20][21] The company laid the keel for Steamer's Future on 8 February 1996, but as early as 1997, the Keppel conglomerate began to exit the shipping industry.

[22] In April 2004, Rehder & Arkon renamed the ship Baffin Strait, and chartered her for six months to Mariana Express Lines.

[27] In 2004, TransAtlantic Lines outbid Sealift Incorporated for the contract to haul cargo between Singapore and Diego Garcia.

[27] The route had previously been serviced by Sealift's MV Sagamore which was manned by members of American Maritime Officers and Seafarer's International Union.

[27] TransAtlantic Lines reportedly won the contract by approximately 10 percent, representing a price difference of about $2.7 million.

[6] The Baffin Strait's Diego Garcia charter ran from 10 January 2005 to 30 September 2008 on a daily rate of $12,550 under contract number N00033-05-C-5500.

[29] The Sealift Program Office's function is to provide ocean transportation for the Department of Defense and other U.S. government agencies.

[30] On the evening of 22 April 2009, Baffin Strait was involved with a collision with the car carrier Jasmine Ace while both vessels were anchored in Singapore.

[31] On 27 March 2009, Military Sealift Command announced a request for proposals (number N00033-09-R-5502) for the Diego Garcia service.

[34] After finishing the Diego Garcia contract, the ship sailed from Singapore on 19 November 2009 for a shipyard period in Wilmington, North Carolina by way of the Suez Canal.

[36] The move was prompted by deficiencies to the ship's firefighting and lifesaving programs reported by Coast Guard inspectors in Singapore remaining unresolved.

According to the Coast Guard's program manager for domestic vessel inspections, inspectors "didn't see a pattern of improvement over time".