On 22 January 1957 Surfbird sailed for Yokosuka (her new home port) to begin a new career. She arrived in Japan on 12 February and began receiving degaussing equipment from the . On 15 June she was redesignated from MSF-383 to a degaussing ship, ADG-383. Until April 1965, Surfbird operated from Sasebo, but her operations covered much of the western Pacific as she also degaussed ships of the allied sea services of Japan, Korea, the Republic of China, the Philippines, and South Vietnam.
