USS Shaula ( AK - 118 ) USS " Shaula " ( AK - 118 ) was a commissioned by the U . S . Navy for service in World War II . She was responsible for delivering troops , goods and equipment to locations in the war zone . " Shaula " was laid down as SS " James Screven " ( MC hull 1213 ) under Maritime Commission contract by St . Johns River Shipbuilding Company , Jacksonville , Florida , on 4 October 1943 ; launched on 23 November 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Gardner T . Gillette ; acquired as " Shaula " by the Navy from the War Shipping Administration under bareboat charter on 4 December 1943 ; converted from a freighter by Gibbs Gas Engine Co . , Jacksonville , Florida ; and commissioned on 5 May 1944 . World War II Pacific Theatre operations . On 17 May , " Shaula " departed for Hampton Roads , Virginia , on her shakedown cruise . On 1 June , she was attached to the Naval Transportation Service and , two days later , sailed for Davisville , Rhode Island , where she loaded cargo . In mid - June , she was underway for Pearl Harbor , via New York City , Guantánamo Bay , and the Panama Canal Zone . Converted to fleet issue ship . " Shaula " arrived at Pearl Harbor on 13 July ; discharged her cargo ; and sailed for Naval Supply Depot ( NSD ) , Oakland , California , on 3 August . There , she was converted to a fleet issue ship for dry provisions , loaded with cargo , and ordered to return to Pearl Harbor . Upon arriving there on the 30th , she was rerouted to Seeadler Harbor , Manus . From 20 September to 16 October , she discharged cargo to U . S . 3rd Fleet units and , when empty , sailed for San Pedro , California , to reload . Servicing South Pacific units . " Shaula " stood out of San Pedro on November 23d . She called at Pearl Harbor and continued to Eniwetok where she provisioned fleet units from 15 to 25 December 1944 , when she moved to Ulithi . She remained there until 12 February 1945 , when she sailed in convoy for Guam . Eight days later , she sailed for San Francisco . After completing voyage repairs and reloading , she headed west , on 3 April , for Ulithi and Leyte Gulf . End - of - war activity . The cargo ship remained in Leyte Gulf from 25 May to 2 October when she sailed for Wakayama , Japan , via Okinawa . " Shaula " departed Wakayama three weeks later for Bungo Suido to provision minesweepers ; thence to Hire Wan , Nagasaki , and Sasebo . Caught in damaging typhoons . On 19 November , she was underway from Sasebo to Samar , Philippine Islands . On the 24th , " Shaula " was in the center of the typhoon containing winds in excess of 100 knots . She lost one lifeboat and one life raft . The next day , she was in the center of a similar typhoon . In heavy seas and rolling 47° , " Shaula " lost two LCM ' s over the side . She reached Samar the next day and entered drydock for repairs . After they were completed , she operated in the Philippine Islands until departing for Shanghai on 15 February 1946 . She also visited Yokohama and Manus before entering Pearl Harbor on 3 May , en route to the U . S . West Coast . Post - war decommissioning . " Shaula " arrived at Seattle , Washington , on 31 May and prepared for decommissioning . She was returned to WSA on 25 June ; stricken from the Navy List on 19 July 1946 ; and sold to Italy on 24 July 1947 . She was temporarily used as an emigrant carrier but reverted to a cargo only role in 1951 . Achille Lauro was a right wing politician who expanded out of cargo shipping into the emigrant business . The was a ship with basic accommodation which had been hastily crammed for emigrant passengers . She was included in the list of vessels on whose regular line voyages the International Refugee Organization proposed to make block bookings in the year to July 1950 . In 1951 her passenger accommodation was removed and she sailed from 1952 to 1968 on Lauro ' s cargo - only service . Her route was Genoa to Australia via Naples , Italy , Suez , Aden , Bombay , Singapore , Fremantle and Sydney , Australia . In 1968 she was scrapped at La Spezia . Military awards and honors . No battle star s are recorded in the Navy Listing for " Shaula " . However , her crew was eligible for the following medals and campaign ribbons :