As a result of the weakness of the Northern Fleet and the importance of the Arctic convoys of World War II, Stavka decided to transfer several modern ships from the Pacific to the Northern Fleet in May 1942; this was ordered by People's Commissar of the Navy Nikolay Kuznetsov on 18 June. Along with "Baku", three "Gnevny"-class destroyers – , , and – were planned to be transferred to the Northern Fleet as the Expedition of Special Purpose (EON)-18, the first time that Soviet warships would use the Northern Sea Route to steam from east to west. The expedition was accompanied by three icebreakers, three oil tankers, and two transports for material supplies, and was prepared in great secrecy, using the pretense of a relocation to Kamchatka. To strengthen her hull against ice, "Baku" was drydocked at Dalzavod in June, where wooden beams lined with sheet iron were attached to her sides; the sheet iron was thick where the beams were placed vertically and on the stern. Other changes included the movement of the degaussing coils to the interior of the hull, the installation of an additional fire extinguisher for the boiler rooms, the replacement of her regular propellers with special reinforced propellers for ice travel, and the replacement of the 45 mm 21-K anti-aircraft guns with 37 mm 70-K weapons.