The destroyers carried 958 troops while the transports took 5,954. All the ships were combat loaded to expedite unloading at Lae. The commander of the Japanese XVIII Army – Lieutenant General Hatazō Adachi – travelled on the destroyer , while that of the 51st Division – Lieutenant General Hidemitsu Nakano – was on board the destroyer . The escort commander – Rear Admiral Masatomi Kimura of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla – flew his flag from the destroyer . The other five destroyers were , , , and . They escorted seven Army transports: (2,716 gross register tons), (950 tons), (5,493 tons), (6,494 tons), (3,793 tons), (2,883 tons) and (6,870 tons). Rounding out the force was the lone Navy transport (8,125 tons). All the ships carried troops, equipment and ammunition, except for the "Kembu Maru", which carried 1,000 drums of avgas and 650 drums of other fuel.