Out at sea, the Turkish fleet is depicted sailing, with the corvette Ertuğrul in the foreground. In the background, a harbor can be seen where the volumes of the houses and Ottoman Mosques with their minarets are schematically rendered and with the volumes of the mountains delimiting the depth to the right of the composition. The sea in the foreground is wavy while the sky is calm with a sweet light of the early morning hours. This is a seascape characteristic of the art of the Russian painter, Ivan Aivazovsky (Ivan Aivazovsky, 1817 – 1900). The waves in the foreground are distinguished by the famous transparency that the painter had the ability to give to his seas. The multiple thin layers of paint that he used give the necessary depth and the sense of the liquid element. The color gradations of the work are mild and give a sense of monochromaticity as the gray-blue and yellowish tones are reflected in the waters, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

The painting was a gift from the captain of the imperial navy, A.N. Shcheglov, to the Museum of the Naval Academy in St. Petersburg. The corvette Ertugrul depicted was ordered in 1854 by Sultan Abdülaziz and inaugurated in 1863. Two years after the painting was created, in 1890, the frigate, on a voyage to Japan, fell into a typhoon and sank, taking more than 500 crew members to its watery grave.