Finally, in 1660, the British received notification from higher authorities to take Janjira by force and formulated a plan to that effect which involved cutting off food supplies to the fort. An expedition was planned under the guise of bearing gifts to the Sidis, but with the true purpose of gauging the situation. For reasons unknown - given the silence in the records - the expedition and subsequent plan to storm Janjira were abandoned. Instructions and plans of this nature issued by the East India Company were often difficult to put into action for various practical reasons. However, the fort of Janjira remained desirable to  
the British. Cognizant of the rising might of the Marathas - who, as we have already seen, were desperate to gain control of the strategic fort - the British considered assisting Shivaji in his mission against Janjira in the hope of gaining the fort. Nevertheless, the British contemplated the prudence of such a move, since having the Sidis as their enemy on the west coast could also prove to be detrimental to British interests (Banaji, 1932, pp. 1-12).