Complex sentence: In the meantime, the coast defense ship had fallen well behind Nebogatov's ships and was spotted by the protected cruiser early in the morning, but the Japanese were more intent on locating the main body of the Russian fleet than attacking a single isolated ship.
Split into simpler sentences: In the meantime, the coast defense ship had fallen well behind Nebogatov's ships and was spotted by the protected cruiser early in the morning. But the Japanese were more intent on locating the main body of the Russian fleet than attacking a single isolated ship.