to help distinguish Blue Star from Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, whose ships bore similar Spanish names. RMSP was an old company with a distinguished history, but had got into difficulties and collapsed amid financial scandal in 1932. Rebuilding In 1935 Blue Star had Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company of Jarrow lengthen Avila Star and Avelona Star from to . Palmers replaced Almeda Stars bow with a Maierform one. This design pioneered by Austrian shipbuilding engineer Fritz Maier and developed by his son Erich Maier, had a convex profile that was intended to increase hydrodynamic efficiency. Steaming arrangements were reduced to 28 corrugated furnaces with a combined grate area of heating three double-ended boilers and one single-ended boiler with a combined heating surface of . The combined rating of Almeda Stars turbines was reduced to 1,840 NHP. An echo sounding device was added to Avila Stars navigation equipment. A change more visible externally was that the Admiralty tops were removed from her two funnels. Palmers' alterations increased Almeda Stars draught from to , and her tonnages from and to and . Wartime service After the UK entered the Second World War Avila Star became a Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships. She continued her valuable service shipping frozen meat from South America to Britain but was largely left to sail unescorted. At first she continued her peacetime route of London – Lisbon – Mindelo, Cape Verde – Rio de Janeiro – Santos – Montevideo – Buenos Aires. After May 1940 she stopped using the Port of London and no longer called at Lisbon. In June France surrendered to Germany and in July–August 1940 Avila Star docked in Cardiff and Swansea to avoid a now-dangerous voyage via the English Channel and North Sea to London. There were repeated Luftwaffe attacks on Cardiff, and on her next two arrivals home in September 1940 and January 1941 Avila Star docked in Liverpool. In October 1940 Avila Star took part in her first convoy, OL 9, which left Liverpool on 25 October and dispersed in the Atlantic two days later. In November she called at Rio de Janeiro and Santos on her outward voyage but not on her return from Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The Luftwaffe was also inflicting heavy damage on Liverpool and April 1941 Avila Star changed again, calling at Belfast Lough and docking at Avonmouth. Avila Stars route was changed again, now omitting