After the Netherlands had been occupied by Germany in 1940,
Huygens port of registry was changed to Batavia. She was placed under the management of the
Orient Line and served as a
troopship. She sailed from Suez on 28 October 1940 as a member of Convoy SW 2A, which dispersed off Aden on 1 November. Her destination was
Bombay,
India.
Christiaan Huygens left Bombay on 12 November with Convoy BN 8A, which arrived at Suez on 23 November. She then joined Convoy BN 9A, which sailed on 30 November and dispersed off her destination of
Aden on 5 December.
Christiaan Huygens then sailed to
Colombo,
Ceylon, from where she left on 16 January 1941 with Convoy US 8, which arrived at Suez on 28 January. She left on 17 February as a member of Convoy BSF 2, which dispersed at sea on 22 February. On 5 April, she joined Convoy SL 70, which had left
Freetown, Sierra Leone on 29 March. At the time, she was carrying
maize and personnel. She detached from the convoy on 20 April.
Christiaan Huygens later reached the
River Clyde, United Kingdom. Carrying 1,592 troops, she sailed from the Clyde on 22 May 1941 as a member of Convoy WS 8B. The convoy arrived at Freetown on 4 June. She sailed 20 June and joined Convoy WS 9A, She left the convoy at
Durban,
South Africa. Carrying 1,575 troops,
Christaan Huygens sailed on 12 January 1942 as part of Convoy WS 15. Having called at
Cape Town, South Africa, the convoy reached Durban on 13 February. The convoy was bound for
Singapore, but during the voyage
Singapore fell to the Japanese. The convoy's destination was changed, first to Batavia, then to Colombo and finally to Bombay as
the Japanese advanced across south east Asia. She then joined Convoy WS 19PA, which formed at sea on 17 July and dispersed off Aden on 26 July. Her movements are unknown until 14 November, when
Christiaan Huygens left the Clyde with Convoy KMF 3, which arrived at
Algiers,
Algeria on 23 November. She returned with Convoy MKF 3, which sailed that day and arrived at the Clyde on 3 December.
Christiaan Huygens was a member of Convoy WS 27, which left
Liverpool, England on 24 February 1943 and arrived at Freetown on 8 March. She subsequently sailed to Aden, from where she left on 30 March with Convoy MC 6, which arrived at Durban on 13 April. She sailed on 25 April as a member of Convoy CM 41, arriving at Bombay on 11 May. Her movements are unknown until 11 July when
Christiaan Huygens sailed from Port Said with Convoy MWF 36 in support of
Operation Husky. The convoy arrived at
Sicily, Italy on 10 July.
Malta with Convoy MEF 36. On 13 July, she was in collision with the Polish troopship . The convoy arrived at
Port Said, Egypt on 15 July. She then sailed to Algiers, from where she left to join Convoy MKF 22, which had sailed from Port Said on 19 August and arrived at the Clyde on 9 September.
Christiaan Huygens sailed from the Clyde on 21 September with Convoy TU 2, which arrived at
New York, United States on 30 September. Carrying general cargo and troops, she sailed from New York on 29 December as a member of Convoy UT 6, arriving at the Clyde on 8 January 1944. In 1944, her port of registry was changed to
Willemstad. Carrying 1,837 troops,
Christiaan Huygens left the Clyde on 15 January with Convoy KMF 28, which arrived at Port Said on 30 January. She left the convoy at Algiers. Carrying 2,967 troops, she returned with Convoy MKF 28, which had left Port Said on 20 January and arrived at the Clyde on 2 February. Carrying 2,637 troops, she left the Clyde on 29 March with Convoy KMF 30, arriving at Port Said on 12 April. She then sailed to
Oran,
Algeria, from where she left on 17 April as a member of Convoy NSF 20, which arrived at
Naples, Italy on 20 April. She left the next day with Convoy SNF 20, arriving at Oran on 24 April.
Christiaan Huygens sailed with Convoy NSF 21 on 30 April, arriving back at Naples on 3 May. She then sailed to
Taranto, Ital. She left with Convoy IXF 14 on 5 May for Port Said, where she arrived four days later. A total of 2,499 personnel were embarked before she left with Convoy MKF 31, which arrived at Liverpool on 29 May.
Christiaan Huygens sailed from the Clyde on 24 August as a member of Convoy KMF 34. She had 3,168 troops embarked. Her destination was Naples, where 1,7416 troops embarked and 3,755 sacks of mail were loaded. She then sailed to join Convoy MKF 34, which had left Port Said on 3 September and arrived at Liverpool on 14 September.
Christiaan Huygens sailed with Convoy KMF 36 on 6 November. She was carrying 2,740 troops. The convoy arrived at
Alexandria, Egypt on 19 November. She sailed on to her destination of
Trincomalee, Ceylon. From there, she sailed to Aden, from where she left on 28 November as a member of Convoy ABF 6, which arrived at Bombay on 4 December. Escorted by , she detached from Convoy ABF 6 on 1 December. The two ships formed Convoy AJ 6, which arrived at Colombo on 5 December. Forming Convoy JA 1 on her own,
Christiaan Huygens left Colombo on 11 December and arrived at Aden on 17 December. She then sailed to
Gibraltar. Carrying 2,916 troops, she sailed with Convoy KMF 40 on 18 February, arriving at Gibraltar on 24 February. She sailed on 6 March with Convoy MKF 40, which arrived at Liverpool on 12 March. She then sailed to the Clyde to join her final convoy, KMF 43. Carrying 2,658 troops, she sailed on 17 April and arrived at Gibraltar on 23 April. Her final destination was Bombay. On 26 August, while on the way from
Antwerp to
Rotterdam, she struck a
mine in the
Scheldt () and was beached at the Zuid-Steenbank. The ship broke in two on 6 September and was declared a total loss. ==Notes==