Ohioan's post-war career was relatively uneventful until 8 October 1936, when she ran aground near Seal Rock at the Golden Gate, the entrance to San Francisco Bay.

Attempts to free the ship were unsuccessful and, because of the close proximity of the wreck to San Francisco, the grounded Ohioan drew large crowds to watch salvage operations.

[5] She had a deadweight tonnage of 9,920 LT DWT,[3] and her cargo holds, which had a storage capacity of 438,154 cubic feet (12,407.1 m3),[3] were outfitted with a complete refrigeration plant so that she could carry perishable products from the West Coast—such as fresh produce from Southern California farms—to the East Coast.

She may have been in the half of the American-Hawaiian fleet that was chartered for transatlantic service, or she may have been in the group of American-Hawaiian ships chartered for service to South America, delivering coal, gasoline, and steel in exchange for coffee, nitrates, cocoa, rubber, and manganese ore.[12] Unlike her surviving sister ships,[Note 3] there is no evidence that Ohioan was ever chartered by the United States Army;[Note 4] Ohioan's activities between the United States' declaration of war on Germany in April 1917, and her acquisition by the United States Navy on 5 August 1918, are unknown.

Although sources do not indicate the specific modifications Ohioan underwent, typical conversions for other ships included the installation of berths, and adding greatly expanded cooking and toilet facilities to handle the large numbers of men aboard.

[18] Cher Ami had received the French Croix de Guerre with Palm and had been recommended for the U.S. Army Distinguished Service Cross by General John J.

Although the company had abandoned its original Hawaiian sugar routes by that time,[27] Ohioan continued inter-coastal service through the Panama Canal relatively uneventfully for the next 17 years.

[29] In early morning hours of 8 October 1936, Ohioan ran aground near Seal Rock on the south shore of the Golden Gate, just outside San Francisco Bay.

The ship, sailing in a dense fog, strayed too close to shore and grounded on the rocks,[1] sending a shower of sparks that lit up the night.

As word of the shipwreck spread, spectators clambered over the cliff to get a view of the scene; one man died from a heart attack and two women broke ankles in separate falls.

[Note 5] American-Hawaiian announced that a Los Angeles salvage firm had been hired to retrieve the 1,500-long-ton (1,520 t) cargo,[31] which included explosives and oil.

[34] On 22 October, the Los Angeles Times ran an Associated Press story saying that marine experts were considering the use of a method first patented by Abraham Lincoln in May 1849 in order to re-float the stranded ship.

[35][Note 6] All efforts were unsuccessful, and by 31 October, American-Hawaiian placed an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times requesting bids for the purchase of the ship and her cargo "as and where she now lies ... on the rocks near Point Lobos, San Francisco".

[32] In March 1937, five months after the wreck, the hulk of Ohioan—still aground near Seal Rock—caught fire when a watchman aboard the ship attempted to burn some meat in a refrigerator.

[39] Author Mark Ellis Thomas suggests that English poet and novelist Malcolm Lowry may have been inspired by the wreck of Ohioan in his poem "In Tempest's Tavern".