When Erin and Ariel first saw Nell Flander’s Mansions of Nyx, the ship was careened on lush Sugar Bowl Island in the Deep Blue Sea. This painting is of a different ship* on a barren coast. You can observe a member of the crew suspended from a line scraping the hull free of barnicles. This had to be done from time to time on all ships, especially a ship of war. A clean hull meant a faster ship.
*Source: Jules Dumont d’Urville (1846) Voyage au Pôle Sud et dans l’Océanie sur les corvettes L’Astrolabe et La Zélée exécuté par ordre du Roi Pendant les Années 1837–1838–1839–1840 sous le commandement de M. Dumont-d’Urville.