 When Washingtonian began sailing for American-Hawaiian, the company shipped cargo from East Coast ports via the Tehuantepec Route to West Coast ports and Hawaii, and vice versa. Shipments on the Tehuantepec Route arrived at Mexican ports — Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, for eastbound cargo, and Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, for westbound cargo — and traversed the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on the Tehuantepec National Railway. Eastbound shipments were primarily sugar and pineapple from Hawaii, while westbound cargoes were more general in nature. Washingtonian sailed in this service, but it is not known whether she sailed on the east or west side of North America. After the United States occupation of Veracruz on 21 April 1914 (which took place while six American-Hawaiian ships were being held in various Mexican ports), the Huerta-led Mexican government closed the Tehuantepec National Railway to American shipping. This loss of access (the Panama Canal was not yet open) caused American-Hawaiian to return to its historic route of sailing around South America via the Straits of Magellan in late April. During the U.S. occupation, Washingtonian was chartered by the Navy Department to serve as a non-commissioned refrigerator and supply ship for the U.S. fleet off Mexico. She was outfitted for her first voyage at the New York Navy Yard and sailed with 500,000 pounds (230,000 kg) of fresh meat for the Navy and the United States Army. Washingtonian sailed in a rotation with the commissioned Navy stores ships USS Culgoa and USS Celtic.
