The Scottish Star sailed from Fremantle, Australia 18th May/1967 for the United Kingdom with a cargo of fruit (apples) bales of greasy wool and jarrah timber. Entering the Suez Canal on the 6th June 1967 she was trapped in the Bitter Lakes as a result of the blocking of the canal during the Arab-Israeli War of '67. She and numerous other vessels remained there until 1975. Initially she was fully manned with her refrigeration system operational. Her cargo of apples were maintained at normal carriage temperatures but eventually had to be frozen. Extreme difficulty in maintaining power was experienced due to the build up of shell in her cooling water systems which required almost continuous cleaning. Eventually in September 1969 she was declared a total constructive loss and her crew left.

Bob Smark wrote: 

"The picture  of the  Scottish Star  looking rather a sorry sight, I can assure you though she looks better in the picture than she did when I joined her in June 1969 in the Great Bitter Lake to do three  months relieving duty.
Her hull was thick with barnacles and we fought a never ending battle with cockroaches but we enjoyed ourselves, the camaraderie amongst the ships crews was great and considering the circumstances everyone seemed to enjoy themselves."