Jeparit remained the occasional focus of anti-war attention between 1967 and 1969. The ship was targeted by a small protest in December 1967 and reloading in Sydney was occasionally disrupted by union activity. These protests came to a head in November 1969, when the Waterside Workers Federation refused to load or unload Jeparit. After a period of negotiation, the ship was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Jeparit on 11 December.Jeparit to join RAN to beat ban Canberra Times 11 December 1969 page 1Jeparit in RAN now Canberra Times 12 December 1969 page 3 The ship's master was appointed Jeparits commanding officer the next day and received a commission in the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve, but the ship continued to operate with a mixed civilian-naval crew. This did not end the ship's problems, however, as RAN personnel assigned to load the ship were initially slow and a building contractor had to be engaged to load tanks onto Jeparit after civilian crane operators refused their services. Army personnel from A Squadron 2nd Cavalry Regiment were also tasked with the job of unloading and loading the Jeparit.
