SS El Oriente was a cargo ship built in 1910 for the Morgan Line, a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Company.

SS El Oriente was one of four sister ships that carried cargo and a limited number of passengers for the Morgan Line.

In September 1944, she was chartered by the ICRC and sailed under the Swiss flag carrying food parcels to American prisoners of war held in German camps.

[8] If El Oriente were used by the Army as an animal transport ship, she would have needed a refit which typically meant that any second- or third-class passenger accommodations had to be ripped out and replaced with ramps and stalls for the horses and mules carried.

As part of this new program, El Oriente delivered her full load of horses and mules— suffering no losses—at Bordeaux on 2 September.

[8] El Oriente continued sailing for the NOTS through April 1919,[6] sometimes carrying a small number of troops on return voyages to the United States.

[11] At that time El Oriente was converted to carry troops, and assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Force to help return larger numbers American servicemen from Europe.

[6][Note 2] El Oriente resumed cargo service with the Morgan Line, and enjoyed a quiet career, typically sailing between New York and Galveston.

[14] One event of note occurred in February 1922 when El Oriente came upon the wreck of the schooner, Caldwell H. Colt, which had run aground on a reef near the Tortugas Light during a gale.

Over the next 5 months, El Oriente sailed around the British Isles, calling at Kirkwall, Belfast Lough, Barrow-in-Furness, and Liverpool, and back to Clyde in late December.

[20] On 5 October, Henry Dunant departed Philadelphia with a cargo of mail and 900,000 food parcels intended for Allied prisoners of war interned in German camps.

The ship returned to Norfolk, resumed her former name of El Oriente, and entered the James River Reserve Fleet on 7 November 1945.