Though severe, the damage to "Shinano" was at first judged to be manageable. The crew were confident in the ship's armor and strength, which translated into lax initial efforts to save the ship. This overconfidence extended to Abe. He doubted the sub's torpedoes could inflict serious damage, since he knew that American torpedoes were less potent than Japanese torpedoes. He ordered the carrier to maintain its maximum speed even after the last torpedo hit. This pushed more water through the holes in the hull resulting in extensive flooding. Within a few minutes she was listing 10 degrees to starboard. Despite the crew pumping of water into the port bilges, the list increased to 13 degrees. When it became apparent the damage was more severe than first thought, Abe ordered a change of course towards Shiono Point. Progressively increasing flooding increased the list to 15 degrees by 03:30. Fifty minutes later, Abe ordered the empty port outboard tanks to be counter-flooded, reducing the list to 12 degrees for a brief time. After 05:00 he ordered the civilian workers to be transferred to the escorts as they were impeding the crew in their duties.