Arctic, a 197 gross ton steam tug, was built at Eagle Harbor, Washington, in 1913 for commercial use. The Navy took her over in December 1917 and placed her in commission in January 1918 as USS Arctic (SP-1158). Her initial service was to escort a submarine chaser along the U.S. West Coast and tow two coal barges through the Panama Canal. She then went on to the East Coast and in May began a voyage across the Atlantic to the Azores, helping to escort a convoy of submarine chasers to Bermuda. She operated between the U.S. and the Azores for the remainder of World War I. During the first months of 1919 Arctic was a unit of the Atlantic Fleet Train, serving as a target tug and ammunition transport. She was decommissioned at Havana, Cuba, in July 1919 and turned over to her owners.