After commissioning, the carrier began a continuous 26-day journey of 10,212 nautical miles to its home-port at , Karwar, from Severodvinsk on 27 November 2013, with a short stopover in Lisbon. It was under the command of Commodore Suraj Berry, her first Indian captain. Apart from her Indian crew, she also carried 177 Russian specialists from Sevmash, who would remain on board for one year, as part of the 20-year post-warranty services contract with the shipyard. During the journey, it encountered a storm in the Barents Sea where she linked up with her escorts frigate and fleet tanker . The group was escorted by the Royal Navy frigate while passing through the English Channel, and was joined by destroyer near Gibraltar.