Ordered to continue, Cámara's squadron passed through the Suez Canal on 5–6 July. By that time, the United States Department of the Navy had announced that a U.S. Navy "armored squadron with cruisers" would assemble and "proceed at once to the Spanish coast" and word also reached Spain of the annihilation of Cervera's squadron off Santiago de Cuba on 3 July, freeing up the U.S. Navy's heavy forces from the blockade there. Fearing for the safety of the Spanish coast, the Spanish Ministry of Marine recalled Cámara's squadron, which by then had reached the Red Sea, on 7 July 1898. Cámaras squadron returned to Spain, arriving at Cartagena on 23 July. Cámara and Spain's two most powerful warships thus never saw combat during the war.