 While steaming to Recife, Brazil, on 21 February 1945, "Rockaway", located a disabled tanker and guarded the tanker for three days until a fleet tug arrived on the scene to tank the tanker under tow.In July 1945, "Rockaway" began conversion at the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, into a press information ship.Reclassified as a miscellaneous auxiliary and redesignated AG-123 on 30 July 1945, her conversion was designed to allow her to carry 50 correspondents during the invasion of Japan, which was scheduled for 1945-1946.