The ship was armed with a battery of forty-two guns of unknown caliber arranged on the broadside.

Her propulsion system was rated for a top speed of 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph), though specific horsepower figures have not survived.

Greek nationalists on the island sought independence from the Ottoman Empire and union with Greece.

The Ottoman naval minister, Haci Mustafa Pasha, came aboard Kervan-i Bahri and sailed to Crete on 5 April 1867 to investigate the situation around the island.

He decided to base a squadron in Preveza to blockade the island, but it was plagued with coal shortages.