Field on Guadalcanal. Two choices were open to Agnew, who was commanding a task unit consisting of Trever and Zane. One was to head for the Maliala River to join the gunboat and the damaged seaplane tender which were both well camouflaged. By following this plan, Zane and Trever, both uncamouflaged, might attract the Japanese into the area and raise a strong possibility of the destruction of all four highly vulnerable American ships. Accordingly, the ships attempted the alternative, a dash for safety. The two old destroyer minesweepers got underway and accelerated as fast as possible to clear the area. Some 15 minutes later the Japanese destroyers' silhouettes came over the horizon, hull-down and travelling at high speed. The American ships could manage only and the Japanese, making , gained rapidly and opened fire with their guns while still out of range of the Americans' armament. The first enemy shells overshot and sent up fountains of water several hundred yards ahead of the destroyer minesweepers; the next salvo fell some astern. The American ships used evasive action and returned fire from their guns as Japanese salvos exploded in the sea nearby. The Japanese then hit Zane amidships, killing three men. Agnew now decided that his ships' best chance of survival would come from attempting to make a high-speed transit of shoal-studded Niella Channel. Just as the Americans were changing course, the Japanese broke off the action, perhaps remembering their primary mission. After continuing resupply runs through January 1943, Trever steamed to Australia for overhaul, arriving at Sydney on 27 January 1943. 1943Trever returned to Espiritu Santo on 28 February 1943 before calling at Wellington, New Zealand, on 31 May 1943. Returning to escort duties, she accompanied the tank landing ship from Lungga Roads to the Russell Islands on 20 June 1943. After nightfall, a Japanese twin-float biplane seaplane came over and dropped bombs on the two ships, sending them to general quarters and provoking return fire from Trever′s 20-millimeter guns.Trever next took part in operations in the New Georgia campaign. On 29 June 1943, Rear Admiral George H. Fort raised his flag on Trever as Commander, Task Group 31.3. That night, in company with the high-speed transports and and seven infantry landing craft (LCIs), Trever departed Wernham Cove in the Russell Islands. At daybreak the next morning, the high-speed transports launched their landing boats. The troops landed at Oliana Bay