enforcing a blockade against Germany by intercepting, boarding, and inspecting vessels that may have been German merchants or agents conducting trade in the region. In addition, she also tasked with escorting and protecting the convoys using the shipping lanes between South American port and the ports in Western Africa, from Axis U-boats and merchant raiders. She visited Montevideo, Uruguay, in addition to Bahia and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and although not at war during this time she still operated under war conditions. Search for blockade runners On 4 November 1941, with the report from the British oiler RFA Olwen that a German surface raider had attacked her at , Vice Admiral Algernon Willis, RN, Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic, ordered his heavy cruiser , along with the armed merchant cruiser , to search for the raider. The light cruiser and the special service vessels and were additionally ordered to assist in the search and departed from Freetown, Sierra Leone. Dorsetshire and Canton separated, with Dorsetshire steaming southeast and Canton setting an opposite course. Omaha and the destroyer , TG 3.6, which were positioned far northwest of the stated siting at that time, were tasked with supporting the Royal Navy ships. and the destroyers and , who were near to the area reported by Olwen, were able to search the area, but were unable to locate the "German raider", while Omaha and Somerss search for survivors was also unsuccessful. The search continued the next day. Capture of Odenwald Even though the hunt for the "raider" had been unsuccessful it ultimately proved to not be entirely fruitless. On 6 November, as Omaha and Somers were en route back to Recife, returning from a patrol in the equatorial waters of the Atlantic, smoke was spotted, at 05:06, on the horizon. Captain Theodore E. Chandler, Omahas commander, put her on an intercept course with the sighting. As Omaha approached the ship, which was flying US colors with the name Willmoto, out of Philadelphia, identifying her on her stern, she began taking evasive action. While multiple attempts were made to signal the merchant ship, they either went unanswered or they were given suspicious responses. Omahas lookouts also reported that many of the crew visible on the deck of the ship were "uniquely un-American in appearance." The ship, which identified herself as Willmoto, did not satisfactorily identify herself to the American warships. After ordering "Willmoto" to heave to,