"Savannah"s primary mission off Brazil was the destruction of any Nazi German blockade runners spotted in the South Atlantic Ocean. Teamed with the new U.S. Navy escort carrier , plus a screen of destroyers, "Savannah" put to sea on 12 January 1943 on a long patrol that resulted in no combat with the enemy. "Savannah" went back into Recife Harbor on 15 February, and next, she steamed out again to search for blockade runners on the 21st. On 11 March 1943, she left the task group along with to investigate a ship that had been sighted by an aircraft from "Santee".