Prevail recommissioned 1 April 1952, was reclassified as USS
Prevail (AGS–20), and underwent conversion to a
survey ship at
New York Naval Shipyard. Reporting in late August to Commander, Hydrographic Survey Group 1, in October, she undertook her first surveying assignment in the
Cape Hatteras area. From 1953 to 1956 she conducted survey and cable laying operations in the
Caribbean, along the Southern and Eastern coasts of the United States north to
Nova Scotia, and in the
South Atlantic Ocean. During 1957
Prevail operated along the
Newfoundland and Labrador Coast and briefly in the
Bahama Islands. On 7 February 1958 she departed for the
Mediterranean, returning 9 May. From 19 May to 27 July 1959,
Prevail conducted sounding surveys in the western Mediterranean, then moved to the eastern Mediterranean. After returning home 10 September, she spent the next four years conducting surveys in the
Caribbean, off
Bermuda, and off
Newfoundland and
Nova Scotia. == Decommissioning ==