Alloway, a 6165 gross ton steam freighter built at Oakland, California, was completed in July 1918. The Navy took the ship over in mid-July, placed her in commission as USS Alloway (ID # 3139) and assigned her to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service. On her maiden voyage she steamed to Arica, Chile, where she loaded a cargo of nitrates. This was carried to Norfolk, Virginia, where Alloway arrived in September. Following repairs, she left New York in November 1918 to take Army cargo to France. In early March 1919, soon after her return to the United States from this voyage, USS Alloway was decommissioned and returned to the U.S. Shipping Board.