Larkins made ten voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), all as an "extra ship", i.e. under contract.

She traded extensively between England and India or China, and in this twice (1820 and 1843) suffered serious but not fatal maritime mishaps.

[1] EIC voyage #3 (1812–1813): Dumbleton sailed from Portsmouth on 10 March 1812, bound for St Helena and Bengal.

[1] EIC voyage #4 (1814–1815): Dumbleton sailed from Portsmouth on 8 June 1814, bound for Madeira and Bengal.

She visited Bencoolen on 31 March, reached St Helena on 14 July, and arrived at the Downs on 19 September.

[1] First convict voyage (1817): Captain Henry Wilkinson left England on 20 July 1817 and arrived at Sydney on 22 November 1817.

Captain John Brabyn of the Royal Veterans Companies, who was returning to New South Wales, commanded the guard.

In August 1824 the government in India hired Larkins to carry troops from Calcutta to Chittagong.

Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 16 April, reached St Helena on 28 July, and arrived at the Downs on 16 September.

Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 4 March, reached St Helena on 5 June, and arrived at the Downs on 27 July.

Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 10 January 1834, reached St Helena on 18 March, and arrived at the Downs on 17 May.

A gale developed and although two steam tugs had been dispatched to bring her up the Thames, the weather was too strong to permit them to take her in tow.

[26] In August 1844 Larkins, Captain Hibert, was in Madras Roads with a partial cargo of cotton.

The cotton spontaneously combusted but the crew was able to subdue the fire, although two hold stanchions were burned.

In 1853 Lloyd's Register showed Larkins with Philpot, master, Haviside, owner, but without any mention of a trade.

[4] P&O moored Larkins in Princess Royal Harbour and stripped her to a hulk, removing her upper masts.

[4] The British government sought tenders for conveying mail from England to Melbourne via Southampton, Alexandria, and Suez.

[4] In March 1865 Larkins served as a lazaretto for three weeks for a girl who had developed scarlet fever while a passenger aboard RMS Bombay.

Larkins would repeat the signal, and fire a gun (day), or launch a rocket (night) to alert Albany.

[4] Some of Larkins's teak timber ended up in local buildings and a locally-built yacht.

After some changes of ownership, her figurehead, which had been removed after RMS Bombay collided with Larkins, was donated in 1962 to the Albany Residence Museum.

Should the site prove to be the resting place of the last remnants of Larkins, it will come under the protections of the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976.