to Auckland, New Zealand, where the Navy acquired the ship on 6 November 1943, from the War Shipping Administration (WSA) under a bareboat charter. Enough repairs to make the ship seaworthy at Naval Base Sydney, were effected, and she was commissioned as Venus on 10 November. Towed from Auckland, Venus arrived at Sydney, Australia, where she was decommissioned and placed "in service" on 4 December. The ship was one of five Navy manned Liberties assigned 8 December 1943 to the Southwest Pacific Area for service under operational control of the Commander, Seventh Fleet in meeting Army requirements; however, due to the damage and delay another Liberty was assigned. Docking and conversion work at the port were delayed due to higher priorities being assigned to other ships and labor troubles at the dockyards themselves. Once these obstacles were overcome, work proceeded apace — a difficult task because the conversion was accomplished in a foreign yard with non-standard materials. Designated AK-135, the ship was placed back in commission on 26 September 1944. On 4 October, she commenced her shakedown and soon loaded general cargo and dry provisions before she sailed for the Admiralties on 26 October. She reached Manus four days later and discharged some of her cargo. There, she also received her main battery, a single /38, dual-purpose gun. The ship witnessed an air raid on 9 November, but the attack was directed at another vicinity, and the cargo vessel did not participate in the action. The following day, blew up in a cataclysmic explosion while handling ammunition at Seeadler Harbor. All but a few of her crew, those who were ashore at the time, were killed in the blast which not only atomized the ammunition ship but severely damaged other ships nearby. Venus responded to this emergency by sending a boat to assist in medical operations with 30 units of blood plasma. During the ship's stay at Manus, several cases of diphtheria developed on board, and all hands were restricted to the ship. On 28 November, Venus sailed for Dutch New Guinea, arrived at Hollandia the following day, and stayed until Christmas Eve, when she headed for Aitape — arriving there on Christmas Day. On 27 December 1944, the cargo vessel got underway for Cape Sansapor, where she supplied LST’s attached to Task Group (TG) 77.5, which later took part in the landings at Lingayen Gulf. Proceeding to Morotai upon