After the fall of Scipio, Duilius was put in overall command. He set out for the north coast of Sicily to intercept the armada of Hannibal (not the general) which had attacked the port of Mylae. As the Romans approached, the Punic navy put to sea. Overconfident, the Carthaginian commander allowed his battle formation to fall apart, making himself vulnerable to the Roman corvus. The thirty leading Punic ships were boarded and taken, while Hannibal escaped via longboat. In all 50 Carthaginian ships were captured in Rome’s first great naval victory.
Duilius did not pursue Hannibal because he had to rescue Segesta from a Carthaginian siege by deploying his marines from the Gulf of Termini. He returned to Rome for a triumph in 259 B.C. carrying with him the beaks of the captured Punic ships which went on display in the Forum. Oddly, he was never given another commission.