	On 23 January 1944, "Kinu" with accompanied by "Ōi" and "Kitakami", and escorted by the destroyer made a troop transport run from Singapore to Port Blair, Andaman Islands. On the return voyage to Singapore, "Kinu" towed "Kitakami", which had been damaged by a submarine attack. "Kinu" remained on patrol in the western Dutch East Indies through April.