On 28 June 1948, "Tekesta" returned to San Francisco and resumed operations along the California coast until early November. On the 4th, she headed west once more. She called at Pearl Harbor and Midway Island before reaching Yokosuka, Japan, on the 30th. In January, she shifted to Tsingtao, China, and operated there until early in March. "Tekesta" departed China on 10 March, visited Okinawa from the 14th to the 18th, and returned to Tsingtao on the 21st. She reentered Yokosuka on 7 April and operated from that port for two months before beginning her return voyage to the United States. Stopping at Wake Island and Pearl Harbor along the way, the tug put into San Francisco on 24 July 1949.