She was turned over to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) in October 1957 for operation in a noncommissioned status.

[2] In 1978 she participated in an expedition in the Weddell Sea during which its crew discovered an igneous underwater formation, baptized Virginia Range.

[clarification needed] USS Eltanin was laid up, pending title transfer for disposal, in the James River anchorage of the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF), on February 21, 1990.

The U.S. Navy officially passed title of the vessel to the Maritime Administration on July 2 of that year.

MARAD sold Eltanin for scrap on November 22, 1991, and it departed the reserve fleet on March 18, 1992.