launch. West Ekonk was completed on 13 July, 73 working days after her keel laying, and in a list of the ten fastest-constructed ocean-going ships compiled in 1920 by Edward N. Hurley, the wartime chairman of the USSB, West Ekonk was listed as the ninth fastest-constructed ship in the world. West Ekonk was the fourth ship built under a USSB contract that called for Skinner & Eddy to deliver 14 ships at a cost of $1,672,000 each, but the cost of extras during her construction added $35,268. Skinner & Eddy received a $69,200 bonus for West Ekonks early completion, which brought the total cost of the ship to $1,776,468. West Ekonk was , and was long (between perpendiculars) and abeam. West Ekonk had a steel hull and a deadweight tonnage of . The ship had a single steam turbine that drove her single screw propeller which moved the ship at an pace. World War I After her 13 July 1918 completion, West Ekonk was handed over to the United States Navy for use in the NOTS and assigned the identification number 3313. She was commissioned at Seattle, as USS West Ekonk (ID-3313) the same day. West Ekonk sailed to Port Costa, California, and took on a load of wheat flour and sailed for New York, via the Panama Canal, on 24 July. After reaching New York on 27 August, West Ekonk joined a France-bound convoy, departing on 4 September. West Ekonk arrived at Brest, France, on 19 September, discharged her cargo, and headed back to New York on 30 September. She took on a load of freight consigned to the Italian government and set out for Genoa in early November. West Ekonk was en route to Italy when the Armistice that ended fighting was signed on 11 November. After completing her trip, she made another cargo run to Genoa, sailing from New York in late January 1919 and returning on 3 April 1919. Six days later West Ekonk was decommissioned and returned to the USSB. Interwar career West Ekonks activities immediately after her return to the USSB in April are not known, but in mid-June The Washington Post reported that West Ekonk would be among the 26 ships allocated to sail out of Baltimore beginning later in the month. In early March 1920, The New York Times reported on West Ekonks arrival in New York from Liverpool, and in April