At the same time, a Japanese search aircraft spotted an Allied convoy near Guadalcanal and communicated the sighting to Tanaka who told his destroyer commanders to expect action that night and that, "In such an event, utmost efforts will be made to destroy the enemy without regard for the unloading of supplies."
Samtidig opdagede et japansk fly en allieret konvoj i nærheden af Guadalcanal og meddelte observationen til Tanaka, som fortalte sine destroyerkaptajner, at de kunne vente at komme i kamp om natten og at "i så tilfælde, vil der blive gjort det yderste for at ødelægge fjenden uden hensyntagen til losning af forsyninger."