ship

Introduction
Naval architecture
- Hydrostatics
  - Static stability
  - Dynamic stability
  - Damage buoyancy and stability
- Ship hydrodynamics
  - Design of the hull
  - Determination of propulsive power by model testing
  - Ship maneuvering and directional control
  - Ship motions in response to the sea
  - Structural integrity
- Propulsion and auxiliary machinery
  - Diesel
  - Combinations of machinery
  - Gas turbine and nuclear power
  - Electric drive and integrated machinery plants
Types of ships
- Service vessels
- Miscellaneous
- Industrial ships
- Passenger carriers
  - Cruise ships
  - Ferries
- Cargo carriers
  - Tankers
  - Container ships
  - Barge-carrying ships
  - Roll-on/roll-off ships
  - Dry-bulk ships
  - General cargo ship
Ship operation
- Business aspects
  - The tramp trade
  - The liner trade
  - The captive fleet
- Regulation
  - International conventions
  - Ship classification
- Crewing
- Maintenance
  - Repairing marine damage
  - Maintaining machinery
- Cargo handling
  - Ship-shore transfer
  - Handling aboard ship
History of ships
- Oars and sails
  - Early rowed vessels
  - Sailing ships
    - Types of sails
    - Asian ships
    - Early oceanic navigation
    - 15th-century ships and shipping
    - 17th-century developments
    - Shipping in the 19th century
- Machine-powered ships
  - The early age of steamships
    - The steamboat
      Early examples
      Fulton’s steamboat
    - Commercial steam navigation
  - Oceanic navigation
    - The first Atlantic crossings
    - “The Atlantic Ferry”
    - Passenger liners in the 20th century
    - Cargo ships

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Diagram illustrating ship design terminology, showing a side and front view of a ship hull with labeled measurements for length overall, length between perpendiculars, beam, draft, depth, freeboard, sheer, and waterline.

Diagram showing two cross-sectional views of a ship in water, illustrating static stability. The images label points such as the center of gravity, center of buoyancy, and metacenter, with lines and angles showing how the ship tilts and the forces involved in returning it to an upright position.

A day in the life of a cruise ship pilot

Le Palais harbour

A Washington state ferry with green and white colors crosses Puget Sound, with Seattle's industrial port and large cranes visible in the background.

Port of Seattle

At a Glance

Antonio Nicolo Jacobsen: Brooklyn City steamboat painting

passenger ship — passenger ship Passenger ship in a shipyard at Papenburg, Germany.

ship

watercraft

Written by

Ernest Albert John DaviesAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 4, 2026 •History

ship, any large floating vessel capable of crossing open waters, as opposed to a boat, which is generally a smaller craft. The term formerly was applied to sailing vessels having three or more masts; in modern times it usually denotes a vessel of more than 500 tons of displacement. Submersible ships are generally called boats regardless of their size. The design of ships employs many technologies and branches of engineering that also are found ashore,...

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