Later that month "Malaya" was escorting convoy SL 68. On the evening of 20 March 1941, about 250 miles west-northwest of the Cape Verde Islands, "Malaya" was hit by a torpedo from . Damaged on the port side, and with a 7 degree list due to flooding, Malaya was forced to leave the convoy and make for port, escorted by the corvette "Crocus". She reached Trinidad safely on 29 March. After temporary repairs were made, she continued to the New York Navy Yard, where she was docked for four months.