The ships met at Suez Bay and entered the Suez Canal on 15 November, touched at Port Said on 16 November to embark more ammunition and entered the Mediterranean at 4:00 p.m. The ships were to follow the Cyrenaican shore, about 40 nautical miles out, within the range of Allied single-engined fighters for two days after leaving Port Said, until north of Benghazi at dusk for a turn north and a run for Malta.