War with France having broken out, Welladvice acquired a letter of marque on 21 March 1793. This gave him the right to act offensively vis-a-vis the French, not just defensively, should the opportunity arise. He sailed from Portsmouth on 22 May 1793, bound for Bombay. "Barwell" was part of a convoy that also included the East Indiamen "Prince William", "Lord Thurlow", "William Pitt", , , "Earl of Oxford", , "Fort William", "London", , "Marquis of Landsdown", , , and "Earl of Abergavenny", amongst numerous other vessels, merchant and military, most of the non-Indiamen travelling to the Mediterranean.