In November 1914, the highlight of this Indian Ocean tour of duty followed from a rendezvous at sea with the Australian cruiser . In what was called the Battle of Cocos, "Sydney" had engaged the German cruiser , forcing the raider to beach herself on North Keeling Island to avoid sinking. Some 230 "Emden" survivors were transferred from "Sydney" to "Empress of Russia" for transport to Colombo. At this point, "Empress of Russia" was sailing in a convoy of troop ships carrying 30,000 ANZACs from Albany, Australia to Suez and Europe.