north were the heavy cruisers and , accompanied by the destroyer . Slightly further north, though not involved in the action, was the aircraft carrier , with the heavy cruisers and (with Admiral Kurita aboard), along with the seaplane tender , and the destroyers and . Some time around 23:15, the Allied ships were sighted by the patrolling Fubuki, which followed them surreptitiously. At 23:06, when they were about halfway across the mouth of Bantam Bay, Perth sighted a ship about ahead, near Saint Nicolaas Point. It was thought at first that the ship was an Australian corvette, but when challenged, she made an unintelligible reply, with a lamp which was the wrong color, fired her nine Long Lance (Type 93) torpedoes from about and then turned away, making smoke. The ship was soon identified as a Japanese destroyer (probably Harukaze). Waller reported the contact and ordered his forward turrets to open fire. Main action During a ferocious night action, the Allied cruisers were surrounded. Following severe damage from torpedo and shell impacts, Perth and Houston were abandoned after midnight and sank. About four Japanese transports and a minesweeper were sunk by friendly torpedoes that had missed their target. (Two of these transports were later refloated.) One of the Japanese transports sunk was Ryujo Maru, carrying Lieutenant General Imamura, who had to jump overboard. He was later rescued by the crew of a small boat and taken ashore. Destroyer action Meanwhile, as Evertsen was trying to catch up with Houston and Perth, her crew spotted the tracers and intense shellfire of the main action. Her captain ordered a course northwest towards Pulau Mundu island, off the west coast of Sumatra, then hugged the Sumatran coast as Evertsen turned south to head through Sunda Strait. However, Evertsen was spotted by Murakumo and Shirakumo, looking for more escaping Allied ships. Both immediately illuminated Evertsen with their searchlights and took her under fire. Evertsen attempted to evade by turning west, but after turning southward again, the Dutch destroyer again encountered the Japanese destroyers. Evertsen was hit repeatedly, but temporarily disengaged under a smokescreen. By then, however, Evertsens stern was on fire. Still taking Japanese fire, the captain ordered his crew to ground Evertsen on a coastal reef. Firing all her torpedoes, the remaining crew escaped ashore before the fire reached the aft magazine, causing an explosion that blew off most of the stern.