Ship types

thumb|upright=1.35|Russian Akula-class submarine|Akula-class submarine of the [[Northern Fleet, in 2008]] thumb|upright=1.35|

alt=Large roll-on roll-off ferry carrying passengers and vehicles across open water|thumb|Passenger and vehicle ferry in coastal waters A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus.

warship primarily designed to carry, support, launch, and recover naval aircraft at sea

thumb|The Italian Navy frigate Carlo Bergamini in 2011 thumb|The Royal Navy frigate HMS Pallas in three positions

thumb|, the lead ship of the US Navy's Allen M. Sumner class of destroyers, sailing off the coast of Hawaii thumb|, the lead ship of the US Navy's , sailing in formation with USS Independence (rear) thumb|Type 055 destroyer|Type 055 class destroyer of the Chinese [[People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)]] thumb|, the lead ship of Sejong the Great-class destroyer|her class of destroyers of the [[Republic of Korea Navy]] thumb|The Italian , which belongs to the of Franco-Italian designed first-rate frigates In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended

thumb| firing a broadside (naval)|broadside

thumb|upright=1.35|Colourised engraving of a French galley (27 pairs of oars) built according to the design that was standard in the Mediterranean from the early 17th century; Henri Sbonski de Passebon, 1690|alt=A two-masted ship with several sails set A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for warfare, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during antiquity and continued to exist in various forms until the early 19th century. It typically had a long, slender hull, shallow draft, and

thumb|upright=1.5|USCGC Healy |USCGC Healy (WAGB-20), at right, breaks ice around the Russian-flagged tanker Renda, south of [[Nome, Alaska, in January 2012.]] An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels, such as the icebreaking boats that were once used on the canals of the United Kingdom.

thumb|300x300px|The US Navy's . The Virginia class was the last class of nuclear-powered cruisers to be built in North America. thumb|300x300px|Russian Russian cruiser Marshal Ustinov|Marshal Ustinov A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea denial.

ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials onboard from one port to another

passenger ship used for pleasure voyages

ship designed to transport liquids or gases in bulk

thumb|The 294 Flower-class corvettes of the Second World War might be the best known type. thumb|The and its variants are the most widely used corvettes in the 21st century. A corvette or corvet is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or "rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloop-of-war.

type of cargo ship

thumb|upright=1.35|Tugboat CSS Teaser|CSS Teaser is captured by USS Maratanza. thumb|Justine McAllister, a tug boat in New York Harbor, January 2008 thumb|The tugboats Reid McAllister and McAllister Responder push the LPG tanker BW Volans into port at Marcus Hook on the Delaware River.

type of vessel typically of Southeast Asian or East Asian origin

thumb|Bathyscaphe Trieste (bathyscaphe)|Trieste before its only dive into the [[Mariana Trench]] thumb|The Trieste in 1958

ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another

thumb|right|upright=1.15|Minesweeper MMS-class minesweeper|J 636 underway in British coastal waters during [[World War II]] thumb|The Swedish minesweeper HMS Ulvön visiting Ystad March 3, 2025 thumb|People's Liberation Army Navy|Chinese Navy minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.

fast attack craft armed primarily with torpedoes

tanker designed for the transport of petroleum

A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts.

thumb|upright=1.35|The Royal Navy's revolutionary , launched in 1906, gave its name to the type. thumb|upright=1.35|, the only dreadnought still in existence, was launched in 1912 and is now a museum ship.

thumb|HMS Victory|HMS Victory, flagship of the [[First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy]]

civilian boat or ship that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire

merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo

ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility

watercraft intended to carry people onboard

thumb|right|300px|A gunboat, built for the Royal Navy in 1886

steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates

upright=1.5|thumb|right|, the largest battlecruiser ever built, in Australia on 17 March 1924

Nordic ships of the Viking Age

type of cruiser in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

ship type

type of cruiser warship

small ironclad warship

steamship or riverboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels

small warship armed with anti-ship missiles

cargo ships built in the United States during World War II

ship or boat used to train students as sailors

leading or primary ship in a naval fleet

type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from fragments caused by exploding shells above

ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea

thumb|upright=1.4|Two Panamax ships seen almost touching the walls of the Miraflores (Panama)|Miraflores Locks. thumb|upright=1.4|Neopanamax ship passing through the new Agua Clara Locks Panamax and New Panamax (or Neopanamax) are terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. The limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in a publication titled "Vessel Requirements". These requirements also describe topics like exceptional dry seasonal limits, propulsion, communications, and detailed ship design.

thumb|300px|right|Dutch Republic|Dutch whalers near [[Spitsbergen, painted by Abraham Storck.]] thumb|200px|right| was a whaleship built in 1841 A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.

prefix for ships that carry mail under contract by the British Royal Mail

refrigerated cargo ship type

ship preserved and converted into a museum open to the public

thumb|USA 17 (yacht)|USA-17—a trimaran, type BOR90. thumb|A traditional paraw double-outrigger sailboat (bangka) from the Philippines A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recreation or racing; others are ferries or warships. They originated from the traditional double-outrigger hulls of the Austronesian cultures of Maritime Southeast Asia; particularly in the Philippines and Eastern Indonesia, wher

ferryboat carrying railroad cars onboard

thumb|The Spanish xebec of [[Antonio Barceló (center) fighting two Algerian galiotes (1738)]] thumb|A Dutch galiot from Willaumez's Dictionnaire de la Marine in the 17th century thumb|250px|18th century half galleys. A galiot, galliot or galiote, was a small galley boat propelled by sail or oars. There are three different types of naval galiots that sailed on different seas.

right|thumb|upright=1.3|Retired modern submersible Star III of Scripps Institution of Oceanography

thumb|right|London Fire Brigade fireboat, [[River Thames, London]] thumb|right|Toronto Fireboat WL Mackenzie thumb|right|Onboard view of Fireboat John J. Harvey in [[Tauba Auerbach dazzle camouflage performing a water pumping demonstration in Oyster Bay, New York with artificial rainbow visible]] thumb|right|Italian fireboat CLASS M thumb|right|A fireboat of the fire department of Frankfurt, Germany thumb|right|HKFS fireboat Excellence thumb|right|San Francisco fireboat Phoenix thumb|right|Deluge, retired fire fighting tug thumb|Tokyo Fire Department's Ariake fireboat thumb|The Edward M. Cotte

ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine

watercraft designed to conduct or support combat operations at sea

type of battleship, preceding the development of the dreadnought

tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas

vessel designed to lift things using a crane permanently attached to the vessel

warship built for the purpose of coastal defense

right|thumb|upright=1.2|Two ships moored at El Ballah during a Suez Canal transit thumb|right|upright=1.2|Post-deepening of the Suez Canal, larger ships pass through the canal – in this case, a [[capesize bulk carrier approaches the Egyptian–Japanese Friendship Bridge]] thumb|400px|Comparison of bounding box of Suezmax with some other ship sizes in isometric view