In 2000, the Singapore Art Museum purchased Ship in Distress, a painting in oil on canvas by Raden Saleh Syarief Bustaman, who is considered one of the best known 19th-century Indonesian painters and one of Southeast Asia’s most recognized artists. The painting had presented deterioration such as sever varnish discolouration, cupping paint and isolated canvas undulation. In preparation for its display at the National Gallery Singapore in 2015 when the museum opens, complex conservation treatments to improve the painting’s aesthetic values and technical condition were carried out in 2013. The conservation activity also provided the opportunity to carry out technical examination on the painting, which has led to greater understanding of the aritst’s techniques and materials. Besides discussing the painting’s technical condition and its conservation treatment, this paper also describes the results of its near-infrared examination and the stylistic comparisons with the artist’s other similar works.