During the latter part of November, she completed upkeep at Sasebo. Towing and salvage operations in Japanese waters occupied her during December 1950 and early January 1951. Then, on 12 January, the tug shaped a course back to the United States. Voyaging by way of the Marianas and Hawaii, she arrived in Long Beach, California, in March. By the beginning of April, "Arikara" was at Bremerton, Washington, undergoing repairs; and she remained there until heading back to Hawaii on 11 June. For the remainder of 1951, she operated out of Pearl Harbor making only two voyages to destinations outside the Hawaiian operating area. In July, the ship towed an AFDB to Guam; in August, she returned to Pearl Harbor; and, in October and November, she made a round-trip voyage to Subic Bay in the Philippines.