At 05.32 hours on 19 Feb, 1942, U-161 attacked the harbour of Port of Spain, Trinidad and torpedoed the Mokihana lying at anchor in the approaches, which was seen to sink so that only the bow was visible. The British Consul at anchor was also hit, caught fire and sank in shallow waters. However, both ships were salved.

The Mokihana (Master Charles Porta) lay two miles from the wharf in 40 feet of water with all anchor, cargo and port lights burning and silhouetted against the lights on shore. One torpedo struck on starboard side, just forward of the bridge. The explosion opened a hole of 35 feet by 45 feet in the hull and the ship sank to the bottom. There were no casualties among the eight officers, 28 crewmen and nine armed guards (the ship was armed with one 3in, four .50cal and two .30cal guns).

After temporary repairs, the Mokihana left Port of Spain on 2 May, 1942, but the ship came in troubles three days later in 16°40N/65°12W and had to be towed to the Virgin Islands and then to San Juan, Puerto Rico by USS Partridge (AM 16) and the tug USS Mankato (YNT 8). After more repairs, she arrived at Galveston, Texas on 15 June for permanent repairs.