When the United States entered the war against the Axis powers, Laramie was operating along the southwestern coast of Greenland carrying oil and gasoline.

She steamed from Narsarsuaq to Norfolk via Sydney, Nova Scotia, 11 to 23 December; and, after completing two fueling runs to Baton Rouge, she cleared Casco Bay, Maine, 8 March 1942 with a cargo of gasoline and oil for Army bases in Greenland.

Throughout the remainder of 1942 and during 1943 she plied the stormy North Atlantic, transporting liquid and dry cargo to Greenland from Boston; New York; Sydney, Nova Scotia; and NS Argentia and St. John's, Newfoundland.

[3] On the evening of the 27th she was torpedoed while steaming in convoy at the eastern end of Belle Isle Strait during a part of the Battle of the Gulf of St.

Escorted by U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mohawk, Laramie returned to Sydney 30 August before steaming to Boston 2 to 5 September for damage repairs.