The ships sighted by "Onice" were part of the MW10 convoy, traveling from Alexandria to Malta with urgent supplies for the garrison of the island. There were three cargo ships ("Clan Campbell", "Pampas" and "Talbot") and four tankers("Cleopatra", "Penelope", "Dido" and "Euryalus"), accompanied by an escort of an anti-aircraft cruiser and 12 destroyers. An Italian naval force sortied to attack the convoy, but in the subsequent battle (Second Battle of Sirte) it could only damage some ships of the escort without being able to reach the convoy. Axis air force sank one of the merchants ("Clan Campbell") the next day and destroyed three more vessels after their arrival in Malta.