Japanese cruiser Soya name was taken from the northernmost cape of Hokkaidō, Soya Misaki. After being placed into Japanese service as a 3rd class cruiser, "Soya" was used primarily for training duties. From 14 March 1909 to 7 August 1909, it made a long distance navigational and officer cadet training cruise to Hawaii and North America. It repeated this training cruise every year until 1913. During World War I Russia and Japan became allies and "Soya" (along with several other vessels) was transferred back to Russia at Vladivostok on 5 April 1916, and its original name of "Varyag" restored. Japanese cruiser Soya "Varyag"
Battle of the Straits Manuel Phokas among the dead. Left without hope of relief, Rometta fell in spring 965. Following their defeat before Rometta, the remaining Byzantine forces were forced to withdraw to Messina. From there, Niketas with the Byzantine fleet tried to cross over the Straits of Messina to the Italian mainland, but he was intercepted by the Fatimid fleet under Ahmad al-Kalbi. In the ensuing battle, known in the Arabic sources (Ibn al-Athir, al-Maqrizi, Abu'l-Fida) as the "Battle of the Straits" ("waq‘at al-majāz"), the Fatimid governor employed divers equipped to attack the Byzantine ships: in the description of Heinz Halm, "they would