 Royal New Zealand Navy light cruiser HMNZS "Leander", which had just escorted convoy US-9 to Bombay, was sailing in the northern Arabian Sea searching for the German cruiser "Admiral Scheer" believed to be in the area, as well as German raider ships disguised as merchants.After receiving news of the fall of Mogadishu on February 25, 1941 captain of the cruiser, Robert Hesketh Bevan, RN changed the course north around 7