"Aldersdale" sailed to Gibraltar in February 1940, and to Trinidad in March. On her return to British waters, she was sent to Scapa Flow, and then to the Faroe Islands in April. She sustained damage from the cruiser on her arrival on 24 April 1940, and returned to the UK via Iceland. She was taken in hand for repairs on the River Clyde on 25 July 1940, with work completed on 8 August 1940. She returned to Scapa Flow in September, going on to suffer a number of collision in the later part of the year; with the on 4 October 1940, on 25 November 1940 and the Booth Line's on 22 December 1940. During this time, and into 1941 "Aldersdale" refuelled allied warships at Scapa Flow. On 19 April 1941 she and RFA "Oligarch" were allocated to Fleet Attendant Duties in Norwegian waters, with "Aldersdale" the initial support ship for "Halcyon"-class minesweepers based in the Kola Inlet as escorts for homeward-bound Arctic convoys. On 12 August 1941 "Aldersdale" was allocated to Operation Dervish, the first aid convoy to Northern Russia, arriving at Arkhangelsk on 31 August 1941. On 1 September 1941 she touched an uncharted shoal in Sardau Bay, Spitzbergen, before returning to the UK later that month.