During Aurangzeb's reign, it was captured on 7 September 1695 by the English pirate Henry Avery en route from present-day Mocha, Yemen to Surat, India.

Although a Mughal convoy of 25 ships bound for India had eluded the pirate fleet during the night, the following day they encountered Ganj-i-Sawai and her escort Fateh Muhammed with both stragglers passing the straits en route to Surat.

Perhaps intimidated by Fancy's 46 guns or weakened by their earlier battle with Tew, Fateh Muhammed's crew put up little resistance, and Every's pirates sacked the ship and came away with £40,000 worth of treasure.

But the opening volley evened the odds, as one of the Ganj-i-Sawai's cannons exploded, killing some of its gunners and causing great confusion and demoralization among the crew, while Every's broadside shot his enemy's mainmast by the board.

In response to the capture of Ganj-i-Sawai, the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, sent his army to five key ports for English trade in India — Bombay, Surat, Broach, Agra, and Ahmedabad — to close them.