Early in 1802, Kenau Hasselar, under the command of Captain Cornelius (or Cornelis) Hubertus Buschman, was assigned to the East Indies and Cape of Good Hope division of the Navy.

After the end of the French Revolutionary Wars, the British ceded the Dutch colonies they had captured in the West Indies to the Batavian Republic.

In August 1802, Buschman and Kenau Hasselar took a small squadron that also included the frigate Proserpina, the corvette Hippomenes, the cutter Rose, and the schooner Serpent, to take possession of Curaçao.

[5] The Navy took Serpent into service as HMS Berbice and Admiral Sir Samuel Hood appointed Acting-Lieutenant James Glassford Gooding as her commander.

[8] A week later, the merchants and planters of Demerara voted a sword valued at 100 guineas to Lieutenant Gooding in thanks for his services in protecting the coasting trade as commander of Berbice.