The Bolshevik flag-ship Caspian, despite damaged, was fit enough to lead the evacuation of the garrison: Kruger and Ventured attempted to intercept the convoy but the sudden arrival of the destroyers Karl Liebknecht and Yakov Sverdlov resulted in a brief stand-off and the British ships retreated.
Two days later, on 23 May, British motor torpedo boats scuttled some of the wrecks left in the harbor by soviets [REF].