"Ashtabula" sailed for WestPac on 21 June 1976. Ports visited included Subic Bay; Sasebo and Yokosuka, Japan; Hong Kong; and Keelung, Taiwan. The cruise was highlighted by a joint training exercise with ships of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. The oiler arrived at Pearl Harbor on 15 December and spent the first two months of 1977 providing services to ships in the Pearl Harbor area. In March, she headed west to rendezvous with and refuel a task group built around the aircraft carrier . On 2 April, the ship returned to Pearl Harbor and commenced an overhaul period which was completed on 28 February 1978.