 Waldersee hired a crew of Dutch seamen and declared his destination to be London, but after leaving Rotterdam, he ordered the crew to instead take the ship to Delfzijl, stating that his contractors wanted the ship to proceed there.From there, he took the ship to the mouth of the Ems river on 30 August, where he encountered a gunboat; after Waldersee explained the situation, the gunboat escorted "Heinrich Heister" upriver to Emden.They arrived there on 2 September, where the Dutch crew was sent home.