On 11 November, "Rurik" was sent on another minelaying operation to sow a field of 560 mines off the Swedish island of Gotland. Another such mission on 6 December, laying a further 700 mines in the same area. As a result of the Russian mining effort and Allied submarine attacks, the Germans concluded that they could no longer safely operate capital ships in the Baltic. Starting in June 1916, "Rurik" was sent on several sweeps into the Baltic to search for German merchant shipping, but she only found and sank one vessel during these patrols. While on patrol off the island of Hogland, Russia, on 7 November, she struck a mine and was badly damaged. She remained under repair until April 1917; during this period, her foremast was replaced with the tripod version.