That evening brought a change in orders; and, in preparing to clear the area, "Saury" found herself between two enemy ships. She headed out "playing tag with enemy destroyers all night". The next evening, she was again closed by an enemy destroyer. She went to and evaded the enemy's depth charges. On the night of 27–28 December, she interrupted battery charging to avoid a division of enemy destroyers. On 1 January 1942, she sighted an enemy convoy, but was unable to close the range. On 8 January, she received orders to proceed to the Netherlands East Indies.