Vanik was a Vulcan officer in the 21st and 22nd century, ranked captain. He joined the Vulcan Space Program in 2075 and took command of the starship Ti'Mur in 2136, remaining in that position until at least 2151.
In that year, Vanik shared a meal with Jonathan Archer, T'Pol, and Charles Tucker III aboard Enterprise NX-01, when the two starships encountered each other during Enterprise's survey of a rogue comet. The dinner did not go well, as Vanik did not eat and barely spoke, and when he did, he used veiled insults. Frustrated, Archer finally demanded to know why the Vulcans were spying on him. However, Vanik refused to give him a proper answer, so Archer directly asked him to leave the ship.
It was later revealed that Vanik's reason for following Enterprise was to transport T'Pol back to Vulcan for her arranged wedding.
Meanwhile, Malcolm Reed and Travis Mayweather became stranded on the comet when the ice under their shuttlepod collapsed, trapping them. With the Enterprise's grappler unable to retrieve the shuttlepod, Archer accepted assistance from Vanik. He, with the use of his vessel's tractor beam, managed to rescue the crewmembers.
Later, when T'Pol decided not to leave Enterprise, Vanik returned to Vulcan without her. (ENT: "Breaking the Ice")