The passage was marked by the sighting of an enemy aerial snooper and the sinking of a Japanese midget submarine by destroyer south of Apo Island. Early on 9 January 1945, the attack cargo ship entered Lingayen Gulf. No enemy opposed her approach; and, by 0900, her landing craft were in the water, and "Thuban" had begun to discharge her cargo. During a twilight air alert that day, enemy attackers dropped bombs nearby, and "Thuban" fired on a Japanese fighter plane. During the predawn darkness on 10 January, enemy torpedo boat attacks in the area prompted "Thuban" to establish a boat patrol to defend the ship against surprise attack. As "Thuban" made smoke during the ensuing morning twilight, a low flying Japanese plane made a "strafing" run on the ship. Despite its advantage of surprise, the raider made no hits but escaped before "Thuban" could open fire. As the ship unloaded the last of her cargo on the night of 11 January and 12 January, a Japanese plane splashed away off her starboard beam; and, as dawn approached, she narrowly avoided damage when two bombs fell only off her port quarter. Later in the day, she got underway and set a course southward.