She traded with Saint Petersburg until the British Royal Navy purchased her in 1797 and converted her to a bomb vessel.

[2] In May 1798 Tartarus participated in Sir Home Riggs Popham's expedition to Ostend to destroy the sluice gates of the Ostend-Bruge Canal.

The army contingent blew up the locks and gates of the canal, but due to unfavourable winds preventing re-embarkation, Coote and the men under his command were then forced to surrender.

[5] Consequently, her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal (NGSM), which the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants.

It criticized the master's mate for inattention during his watch and ordered him to be reprimanded and to lose six months seniority.