That same day, she was placed in service under a civilian crew and began preparations for a voyage back to the east coast. After departing San Francisco on 7 January 1910, she again sailed around South America and reached Hampton Roads on 29 March. Based at Norfolk, she issued oil to the ships of the Atlantic Fleet, primarily torpedo boat destroyers. She continued this duty until after the United States entered World War I, filling her tanks with oil at ports along the gulf coast and delivering it to bases in the Caribbean and on the Atlantic seaboard. During this phase of her career, she served with the fleet gathered off Veracruz, Mexico from 30 April – 7 June 1914.