During 16 June 1940, "Galileo Galilei" sank the Norwegian tanker "James Stove" (8,215 Gross register tonnage ), sailing independently about south of Aden. On 2 July the first of the BN convoys, comprising six tankers and three freighters, assembled in the Gulf of Aden. Italian sorties against the BN–BS convoys were dispiriting failures; from 26 to 31 July, "Guglielmotti" failed to find two Greek merchantmen and a sortie by the torpedo boats "Cesare Battisti" and "Francesco Nullo" was also abortive. "Guglielmotti" from 21 to 25 August, "Galileo Ferraris" (25–31 August), "Francesco Nullo" and "Nazario Sauro" from 24 to 25 August and the destroyers "Pantera" and "Tigre" (28–29 August) failed to find Greek ships in the Red Sea, despite agent reports and sightings by air reconnaissance. Italian aircraft and submarines had little more success.