Considered for transfer to Navy as AK-38 but retained by the Army for use as a transport and renamed USAT Irvin L. Hunt.

Arriving at New York on 27 January 1919, Edenton departed on 19 February for Trieste, Italy where her cargo was duly delivered.

In the early 1920s, Edenton operated in both transatlantic and South American service, sailing between the United States and ports such as Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Havana, Cuba.

[7] On 29 March 1925, Edenton suffered a collision about 35 miles east of Barcelona, Spain with a French schooner, Ville de Bassens.

[8] By the late 1920s, the ship was in operation for the Roosevelt Line, sailing between U.S. ports such as New York and Los Angeles to various locations in the Pacific, including Honolulu, Hawaii; Manila, Philippines and the Far East.

[9][10][11] By 1930, Edenton was working for American Export Lines, making mail and parcel runs to Mediterranean and Near Eastern destinations such as Casablanca, Morocco; Piraeus, Greece; Constanța, Romania and Constantinople, Turkey.

[12][13] The onset of the Great Depression in 1929–1930 substantially reduced international trade, and many mercantile vessels were laid up in this period due to lack of work.

[14] After the war, Irvin L. Hunt was retained by the Army until January 1947, when she was returned to the Maritime Commission as SS Edenton and placed in the reserve fleet at Astoria, Oregon.