Its maiden voyage commenced on August 13, 1943 en route to Townsville, Queensland, where it would haul both US and Australian troops to various locations in New Guinea, Indonesia, and the South Pacific until return to San Francisco in November.

The first departed San Francisco 6 February for Finschhafen, Hollandia, Leyte, Lingayen, Subic Bay and Manila with return to Los Angeles.

Instead, with the Pacific war ended, the ship was redirected to Hampton Roads from which another round trip to Marseilles was made returning on 27 September.

[1] In 1947, the United States Maritime Commission, who owned the ship, sold Sea Snipe to Luckenbach Steamship, after major repairs on the boiler were made.

Luckenbach, as a result of major corporate reorganization, sold the ship to States Marine Lines in 1960.