In 1775 the shipowner Jacques-Alexandre Laffon de Ladebat (1719–97) decided to finance an expedition to the East Indies in order to take advantage of the opportunity presented by a relaxation of the monopoly on the trade hitherto awarded to the French East India Company at Lorient.

From there she sailed to Cochin, Mahé, Mangalore, Goa, Surat and Chaoul, then an important trading port about 30 kilometers south of Bombay.

Hurricane damage in October forced Sartine to abandon the voyage to China and instead to return to Malacca for repairs.

After her return to Pondichéry, the French government requisitioned Sartine and armed her for the defense of the colony against the British.

Sartine had been patrolling off Pondichéry with Pourvoyeuse when they sighted two East Indiamen, which were sailing blithely along, unaware of the outbreak of war.

Tronjoly, as commander of the French squadron, and his deputy, Saint-Orens, captain of Pourvoyeuse, were criticized for not engaging Vernon and Rippon, despite orders from Guillaume-Léonard de Bellecombe, governor of Pondicherry, to do so.

Simonton, noting that Sartine was already in only three fathoms, was not enthused, but followed orders and by the afternoon she was anchored in shallow water.

One of the officers was the Comte de Barras, the commander of the French regiment of Marine Infantry of Pondichéry.

[12][3] On 1 May 1780 the cartel Sartine was six leagues south of Cape St Vincent when she encountered the 50-gun HMS Romney.

Due to a misunderstanding, Romney fired on Sartine, killing Captain Dallés and two other men aboard her.

From there she sailed to Marseille, where due to the lack of skill of the replacement for Dallés, she grounded at the harbour entrance.