The ship headed back toward the Caribbean in January 1953 for a month-long cruise. She arrived back in the Virginia Capes area in February and remained there until mid-June. On 14 June, "Ashland" commenced a trip to the North Atlantic and operated in those waters through mid-August. In September, she took on board two French submarines and seven French naval personnel for transportation to the West Coast. The vessel transited the Panama Canal on 10 October and touched at San Diego on the 14th. She returned to Norfolk in October and resumed service along the East Coast.