The Russian governor in Finland, Prince Mikhail Galitzine, with his headquarters in Turku, was unable to receive support by sea, which was then far more important than land-based support as Swedish battle fleet under Admiral Gustav Wattrang had started blockading the coastal sea route past Hanko Peninsula already on 24 April.

First Russian transports left from Helsingfors in early May but had to stop east of Hangö to Ekenäs from where the supplies needed to be hauled overland.

Russian attempts to provide ships to west of Hangö ended when newly formed Swedish coastal squadron led by Captain Anton Wrangel intercepted the Russian supply ships south of Turku on 10 May and in one sided engagement sunk most of them while the rest were scattered.

Apraksin decided to withdraw his ships farther away to the eastern side of the peninsula and call for reinforcements while he waited for the further 20 galleys to arrive from Helsingfors where they had been over the winter.

[11] Ehrenskiöld's detachment consisted of following ships:[12] The second attempt by the Russians took advantage of calm weather on the morning of 26 July, the day of Saint Pantaleon.

The small Russian galleys were easily maneuvered, whereas it was exceedingly difficult to try to turn the heavy Swedish battleships in such weather.

[14] After the breakthrough, Russian galleys gradually pushed Ehrenskiöld's detachment back, causing him to order his vessels to form a defensive line between two islands.

The largest Swedish ship, the pram Elefanten, was positioned broadside-on to the approaching Russian vessels.

The fighting ended with the capture of Elefanten, where Admiral Ehrenskiöld himself was taken prisoner of war on the deck of his own flagship.

[3]: 119–132  He states that the number of Russian casualties as reported by the Swedish officer C. G. Tornquist is hugely inflated and increased from 127 men killed and 347 wounded, a figure supported by documentary evidence, to 3,000 dead and 1,600 wounded,[3]: 118  which is more than the number of Russian sailors engaged in the fighting.

[3]: 118  Krotov also discovered numerous sources mentioning that over the course of the battle 4 Russian “scampavia” gunboats attacked the Swedish ships from the rear.

The Swedish battlefleet which had been blockading Hanko Peninsula was quickly moved west of Åland to protect Sweden against raids by Russian galleys.

The Presence of the Russian galley fleet on Bay of Bothnia forced the remnants of the Swedish army in Finland to hastily withdraw to Torne River to avoid getting encircled.

[17] Russians later embellished the description of the battle of Gangut by reclassifying the oared flat-bottomed gun pram Elefanten into a full sailing frigate.