After shakedown, Goshawk took up minesweeping duties in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, operating out of Seattle, Washington.

She sailed for Alaska on 6 October 1941 and swept the channels between Sitka, Ketchikan, Adak, Seward, and Kodiak Island until 30 March 1942, when she returned to Seattle for extensive refitting.

Goshawk resumed duty on 18 August in the Seattle and Puget Sound area and in late 1943 returned to Alaska as a combination minesweeper and small cargo vessel.

Goshawk returned to Seattle on 9 June 1945 and decommissioned there on 1 August, but continued to perform in an "in service" status, transporting condemned ammunition for the 13th Naval District.

Struck from the Naval Register on 3 January 1946, the ship was sold to Alvin T. Davies of Tacoma, Washington, and renamed M/V Bering Sea.