On New Year's Day 1942 while en route to New Zealand under U.S. Army operation with cargo of military supplies she was discovered by Japanese merchant raiders and was scuttled by her crew to prevent capture.

[6] Following acceptance by the Shipping Board, Milwaukee Bridge was allocated to Kerr Steamship Company to operate on their Mediterranean and South American routes.

The vessel loaded full cargo of sugar in New York and sailed out on her maiden voyage on 19 June 1919 bound for Lisbon, Bilbao and Santander.

[9] On her next trip Milwaukee Bridge departed Newport News on September 16 carrying large cargo of flour and other merchandise, including drums of sulfuric acid, to multiple South American ports such as Santos, Florianópolis and Buenos-Aires.

[11] Following this trip and return to New York on 5 January 1920, the vessel was allocated to Moore, McCormack & Co. to serve their United Kingdom and Ireland routes.

[12] The vessel cleared out loaded with general cargo from New York on her first trip under new management on 6 February 1920 bound for Belfast, Cork and Dublin.

[13] On her departure back to North America, she was forced to put in into Queenstown with engine problems on March 14 and was able to depart ten days later after repairs were effected.

In mid-March 1927 it was reported that Milwaukee Bridge was purchased for $30,000 in cash by Matson Navigation Company and soon departed the East Coast for California in ballast where the ship were to enter the Hawaiian trade.

Upon return, Malama entered triangular freight route carrying lumber and other general cargo from the Puget Sound ports such as Bellingham, Gray's Harbor and Coos Bay to various Hawaiian destinations.

On the return leg of her trips she was carrying mostly sugar and occasionally other tropical fruits such as pineapples and coconuts to San Francisco.

[28] The vessel remained berthed in San Francisco until early May 1932 when she was temporarily brought back into service to take over another Matson's ship route.

[31] After finishing the upgrades, Malama re-entered the same triangular freight route it served before, carrying lumber from the Pacific Northwest to Hawaii and returning to San Francisco with sugar and molasses.

In early November 1941 the United States Army requisitioned several cargo vessels plying their trade on the West Coast, including Malama, to transport the required personnel and equipment to Manila.

[40] Next day another E7K2 from the Hōkoku Maru was launched to search for the missing floatplane and the pilot and in the process reestablished contact with the American vessel.

Not wanting the ship's cargo seized, the captain also ordered that the vessel be scuttled which was done by dismantling her condensers allowing seawater to enter the hold.