On the left is a 'kaag' (a Dutch vessel with a straight raking stem & clincker-built) with a Dutch vane. On the right is a small sprit-rigged vessel, probably a 'weyschuit'. A ship in the background flies the flag of vice-admiral of a fleet, & a plain red ensign. This seascape is probably a studio work painted after an original of the late 1650s by Willem van de Velde the Younger.