Hatsuse was involved in the subsequent naval operations until she sank in a Russian minefield off Port Arthur on 15 May 1904 after the ship struck two mines.

Less than two hours later, the ship struck a second mine which detonated one of her magazines and Hatsuse sank almost immediately afterwards with the loss of over half her crew.

The engines were rated at 14,500 indicated horsepower (10,800 kW) using forced draught and were designed to reach a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).

Their secondary armament consisted of fourteen quick-firing (QF) 6-inch (152 mm) guns, mounted in casemates on the sides of the hull and in the superstructure.

[9] She arrived in Singapore on 28 March where she restocked with coal,[10] received a change of paint from grey to black and then departed on 3 April bound for Yokosuka.

[13] Hatsuse participated in the action of 13 April when Tōgō successfully lured out a portion of the Pacific Squadron, including Vice-Admiral Stepan Makarov's flagship, the battleship Petropavlovsk.

When Makarov spotted the five battleships of the 1st Division, he turned back for Port Arthur and Petropavlovsk struck a minefield laid by the Japanese the previous night.

Emboldened by his success, Tōgō resumed long-range bombardment missions, which prompted the Russians to lay more minefields.

[14] On 14 May Nashiba put to sea with the battleships Hatsuse, Shikishima, and Yashima, the protected cruiser Kasagi, and the dispatch boat Tatsuta to relieve the Japanese blockading force off Port Arthur.