Another theme that has been reworked into the "Yellow Crucifixion", which first appeared in the "White Crucifixion", is the presence of a ship. The significant difference is that in this painting, the ship is shown sinking into the waters. This is undoubtedly an allusion to the "Struma" disaster in 1942. The fact that Jesus is looking down on the ship, watching the passengers, is said to convey the artist's own passage to New York City from Europe that took place by ship.