As the repairs on "Honningsvåg" were being completed her commander, løytnant Plyhn, was amongst the Norwegian naval officers that received orders on 7 June to sail their vessels to the UK as the Allies had decided to evacuate from Norway in response to the German invasion of France. Initially the orders specified Shetland as the first designation for the Royal Norwegian Navy ships, but after British requests this was changed to Tórshavn on the Faroe Islands where the Norwegian commanders were to contact British naval authorities there to be given recognition signals to identify themselves during their further journey to the UK. The Norwegian Naval Command in Tromsø also ordered the ships to sail as westerly as possible to avoid German air attacks.