"Kapitän zur See" Otto von Diederichs took command of the ship in 1889. "Sachsen" took part in a goodwill visit to Portsmouth to take part in the Cowes Regatta. Following the trip to England, "Sachsen" and the rest of the fleet conducted the annual summer exercises. At 15:45 on 27 February 1890, "Sachsen" ran aground outside Kiel in foggy weather. The grounding dented the bottom of the hull and tore it open. However, on 2 March, the ship was able to get underway at high tide. Repairs lasted for two weeks. In 1891, the German navy stopped the practice of deactivating the fleet in the winter months and instead kept the front-line units on permanent active duty. The fleet was also reorganized, to form two four-ship divisions. "Sachsen" and her sisters were assigned to I Division, under the command of Admiral Hans von Koester. Annual fleet training cruises were conducted in April. The summer fleet maneuvers, which occurred during mid-August to mid-September, up through 1894 were always centered on defensive actions in the North and Baltic seas.