On 6 January she departed Batavia as part of a fleet of seven ships bound for Europe under the command of the outgoing Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies Pieter de Carpentier.
When Vianen finally departed Batavia again on 20 January, the monsoon had set in, preventing her from taking the usual route through the Sunda Strait.
Strong head winds then drove Vianen so far south that she ran aground in the vicinity of Barrow Island on the northwest coast of Australia.
The crew were "forced to throw overboard 8 to 10 lasts of pepper and a quantity of copper, upon which through God's mercy, she got off again without further damage.
"[citation needed] On returning north, de Witt charted the northwest coast about as far as the present-day location of Port Hedland.