In April 1958, Empire Orwell was damaged during storms in the Atlantic Ocean. She was towed into Lisbon, Portugal by a German tug. There were complaints about conditions on board Empire Orwell when she was returning troops from the Far East to the United Kingdom in 1958. The issue was raised in Parliament by Horace King, MP. In reply, Alfred Barnes, the Minister of Transport, stated that complaints about messing arrangements encountered in the early part of the voyage were swiftly resolved. Complaints that soldiers below the rank of sergeant were generally unable to visit their families were stated to be a matter of military discipline. Later that year, she was chartered to the Pan-Islamic Steam Ship Co of Karachi, Pakistan who used her to carry Muslim pilgrims. Alfred Holt & Co bought her in November of that year and renamed her Gunung Djati after the 16th century Javanese Wali Sanga Sunan Gunungjati. She was placed her under the management of Ocean Steam Ship Co, Liverpool, Lancashire. Gunung Djati was refitted by Barclay Curle & Co Ltd in Glasgow, Scotland. The refit increased her displacement to . She was fitted with a mosque and was fitted with indicator which would point towards Mecca. On 7 March 1959, she sailed for Djakarta, Indonesia. She could carry 106 first class passengers and 2,000 pilgrim class passengers.
