chartered by Union Oil-Shell Oil venture to carry fuel oil to Boston in February 1939 returning to California in May. The tanker again returned to the Atlantic in July 1939 with a cargo of fuel oil bound for Boston. While there Emidio was involved with carrying petroleum products to and from Aruba. She returned to Los Angeles in October 1939 carrying over 10,000 tons of fuel oil, and in December the tanker passed through the Panama Canal on her way to Curaçao with 9,600 tons of kerosene distillates from California refineries. Subsequently, Emidio made one trip between Aruba and Balboa bringing approximately 10,500 tons of fuel oil for fleet operations there. On her final Atlantic voyage she passed through the Panama Canal in early February 1940 carrying about 10,300 tons of fuel oil from Aruba bound for Los Angeles. Upon arrival in California Emidio resumed her coastwise service there. In August 1940 Emidio was slated to travel to Japan with a cargo of oil, however, this trip was not allowed by the Maritime Commission. In October 1940 Emidio made another trip to Pearl Harbor during an extensive ongoing expansion of Naval facilities in the Hawaii. On her next voyage she sailed with cargo of fuel oil for Manila at the end of November 1940 and upon return in January 1941 returned to her coastwise duties. With the hostilities raging in Europe and the Atlantic as well as deteriorating relations between United States and Japan, all General Petroleum tankers had American flag painted on their sides as neutrality markers in June 1941. By October 1941 Emidio was the only General Petroleum tanker operating along the West Coast with the remainder being shifted to Gulf and East Coast trade. Sinking Emidio departed on her last journey from Seattle on 18 December 1941 bound for San Pedro. The tanker was under command of captain Clark A. Farrow, had a crew of 36 and was sailing in ballast after unloading her usual cargo in Seattle. The trip was rather uneventful until the early afternoon of December 20. While Emidio was about off Blunts Reef, a bar few miles offshore of Cape Mendocino, lookouts spotted a submarine. The captain ordered the course change and increased the speed of the vessel, however, the submarine increased her speed too and closed in quickly to within a quarter mile of the tanker. At approximately 15:15 the Japanese submarine