She was built as War Sailor, one of a batch of cargo ships that the United Kingdom ordered from Japanese shipyards.

The largest batch was 12 ships that Furness, Withy & Co ordered from Kawasaki Dockyard in Kobe.

Two of this batch were built to a design of large, twin-screw cargo ship called the "T" type.

[3] BI employed her on its Far East cargo service, sailing to either Calcutta or London according to season.

She traded mostly within the Indian Ocean, sailing between Burma, India, Ceylon, Australia, Aden, Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Kenya, Egypt, and Mauritius.

[8] On 4 August she left Freetown with SL 118: a convoy of 37 merchant ships bound for Liverpool.

Pentstemon sank the damaged Hatarana by gunfire at position 41°07′N 20°32′W / 41.117°N 20.533°W / 41.117; -20.533, and later landed the survivors at Derry.