Gallery of Ships
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying goods or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished from boats, based on size, shape, load capacity, and tradition.
A lightship is a small vessel with minimal engine power and a stout stable hull, designed to act as an anchored long-term floating lighthouse outside of a harbor. They were generally painted in bright red or orange anti-collision colors. Not that it helped much.
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A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship that carries goods and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usually specially designed for the task, being equipped with cranes and other mechanisms to load and unload, and come in all sizes. Specialized types of cargo vessels include container ships and bulk carriers. ( Tankers and supertankers are also cargo ships, although they are habitually thought of as a separate category. )
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Everyone knows what a submarine is - a ship that can go underwater. Hardly needs any explanation. Unless you're in the US Navy. By the Navy definition, only their modern, nuclear-powered boats ( all submarines are called "boats" ) are true submarines, designed to operate beneath the surface almost indefinitely. Anything else is merely a "submersible", tied to the surface by the need for fuel and air. Whatever.
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A harbor pilot is a person who takes control of a seagoing ship when it is entering or leaving port. He is expertly familiar with all the channels, shoals, currents, tides, and regulations of his particular port, and is essential to safely steer the ships in and out. It is an ancient and exclusive profession, often passed down from father to son*. In old days, the top two signal flags at right were used by ships entering and exiting a harbor to call for a pilot, while the bottom flag indicated "pilot on board."
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A tugboat is a small sturdy and powerful vessel designed to push or tow other vessels and barges
You will see them in every sizable port; smart, businesslike small ships, low in the water and surging out to a large inbound ship. Tugs represent power for pushing and pulling, an engine with just enough hull for adequate buoyancy. Thick fenders for close-quarters work, pushing a big ship alongside the quay against the wind, hauling her off at the end of a towing wire.
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A packet ship of the early 1800s. Of note is the way the sails on the mainmast are set backward, against the sails on the fore- and mizzen- masts. Known as "backing", this was how a square-rigged ship "put on the brakes" to slow or stop without actually furling the sails.
Wind power has been used by mankind for millennia. Almost every human culture has constructed sailing vessels of some kind, from crude log or reed rafts to the highly developed wind-jammers of the early twentieth century. Many of these vessels were the most complex and technologically advanced machines of their time - equivalent to our jet airliners.
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