Twelve days later, "Seal" was en route back to Fremantle. She arrived on 2 October and departed again on 24 October to patrol in the shipping lanes in the Palau area. On 16 November, she intercepted a convoy of five cargomen in two columns with a destroyer escort and conducted a submerged attack on the leader of the near column as the formation zigzagged toward the submarine. Less than a minute after firing, "Seal" collided with, or was rammed by, another enemy ship. The periscope went black and vibrated severely. The submarine rose to ; hung there nearly a minute then started down. A few minutes later, depth charging began and "Seal" leveled off at . Breaking up noises were heard. Four hours later, the area was clear and "Seal" surfaced. The high periscope had been bent horizontally, and the housing on the low periscope had been sprung, preventing its operation. The radar antenna had been broken off the radio mast. Quantities of uncooked rice and beans, unlike those used on the submarine, were found between the wooden deck pieces of the cigarette deck, on the bridge, and caught in the bathythermograph. The periscope shears yielded "a good sample of Japanese bottom paint."