At 23.00 hours on 31 Dec 1940 the unescorted British Zeal (Master John Gossland Robson), dispersed on 19 December from convoy OB-260, was hit on the starboard side in the middle of #2 tank underneath the bridge by a stern torpedo from U-65 while steaming on a non-evasive course at 10.5 knots east of the Cape Verde Islands. The U-boat had chased the tanker for about eight hours and missed with a spread of two torpedoes of which one was a tube-runner at 17.52 hours. A lookout had spotted a torpedo track and the helm was put hard to starboard, but it nevertheless struck and the crew (the ship was armed with one 4.7in, one 12pdr and two machine guns) immediately abandoned ship in the lifeboats in rough seas. The Germans could not use the deck gun in the darkness and a first coup de grâce missed due to a malfunction, but a second struck on the starboard side at the bulkhead between #3 and #4 tanks about 30 minutes after the first hit. They had observed how the crew abandoned ship in a well-disciplined manner and left the area without questioning the survivors, assuming that the tanker will sink.

However, the crew spotted the still floating British Zeal at daylight, rowed towards her in heavy seas and reboarded the tanker about noon on 1 Jan 1941. Three tanks had been flooded through two large holes in the starboard side and the deck was torn open by the explosions, however the engine room was found intact. The crew raised up steam and tested the engines and steering, but then abandoned ship again for the night in case the U-boat was still nearby. At dawn the next day, the men quickly reboarded her and headed towards Bathurst at 5 knots. A few hours later HMS Encounter (H 10) (LtCdr E.V.St.J. Morgan, RN) arrived, offered assistance and departed shortly afterwards to search for the attacker. The tanker continued alone until joined by the rescue tug HMS Hudson (W 02) from Freetown on 4 January and was accompanied to that harbor, arriving four days later. On 16 July 1941, she left Freetown after temporary repairs to Baltimore for permanent repairs via Trinidad and New York, arriving on 18 August. The ship returned to service in February 1942.