Omori arranged his ships in three staggered columns; the outer ones were each led by one of the light cruisers followed by three destroyers and the two heavy cruisers were in the middle. Osugi in "Agano" led the southernmost column, which trailed the main body. One of the cruiser floatplanes claimed to have spotted a cruiser and three destroyers south at 01:20 and Ōmori ordered his ships to make a 180-degree maneuver intended to buy time for the pilot to investigate Empress Augusta Bay for American shipping. Less than an hour later, he reported that American transports crowded the bay; the pilot had actually spotted three minelayers and their destroyer escort that were leaving the bay. Omori ordered his ships to reverse course at 02:25. In the darkness, and with most ships lacking radar, the Japanese formation of three columns was disordered by the maneuvers and commanders lost track of where their ships were in relation to each other.