The ship was constructed to carry 80 first class and 250 second class passengers between the United Kingdom and South America, but was requisitioned in 1940 and refitted in South Shields as an Ocean Boarding Vessel. Commissioned as HMS Hilary, F22, the ship stopped the Italian tanker, Recco on 3 May 1941 but the crew of the tanker scuttled it before it could be captured. On 10 May Hilary successfully captured the Italian tanker Gianna M.