Shellbark (AN-67) was laid down on 15 September 1943 by the Canulette Shipbuilding Co. Inc., Slidell, Louisiana, as YN-91; launched on 31 October 1943; redesignated as AN-67 on 20 January 1944; and commissioned on 12 April.

Shellbark sailed to Newport, Rhode Island, on the 30th to begin her shakedown cruise.

The net layer arrived in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 20 July and operated in English waters until she departed Plymouth, England, on 6 November.

She stood out of San Francisco on 27 April en route to Pearl Harbor, arriving there on 7 May.

On the 22d, she moved into Japanese home waters around Honshū, operating from Kobe and Wakayama, until 1 February 1946.