Ships

Many of the ships that exist in the world of One Piece are based on the classic sail and pirate designs, the ships ranging from the size of massive buildings, down to tiny caravel type ships that are used. There are several types of ships: Pirate Ships, Marine Ships, and ships for civil purposes. Ships are often built and repaired by shipwrights, such as the Galley-La Company in Water 7.

Pirate Ships
Pirate Ships can have various sizes, reaching from very large examples such as the Moby Dick to small rafts, like the one used by the Blackbeard Pirates.

Many pirate ships have figureheads that resemble certain animals (the Going Merry is a prominint example for this). Usually, the motive of the respective pirate flag is printed on the main sail. Due to their combat purpose, almost every pirate ship has several cannons on board.

Acoording to Tom, there are no specific plans for a pirate ship. A ship is a ship, and only how it is used by its crew decides upon whether it is a pirate ship or a marine ship.


 * List of Pirate Ships:
 * Miss Love Duck
 * Big Top
 * Bezan Black
 * Going Merry
 * Thousand Sunny
 * Dreadnaught Sabre
 * Coffin Boat
 * Cooking George
 * Shark Superb
 * Great Eirik
 * Bliking
 * Striker
 * Full
 * Shiro Mokuba I
 * Utan Sonar
 * Victory Hunter
 * Red Force
 * Moby Dick
 * Sexy Foxy
 * Thriller Bark
 * Island Ship
 * Oro Jackson
 * Flying Dutchman
 * Salamander (Movie 4 only)
 * Tarielishin (Filler only)

Marine Ships
Like pirate ships, there are different types of marine ships with varying sizes, though most of them are bigger than the average pirate ship. Furthermore, they have a vast amount of cannons and other weaponry on board. Unlike on the most pirate ships, the cannons can be adjusted for a better aiming. The steering wheel is located on the foredeck of the ship. They also have Judicial Ships, which are sea-traveling courthouses.

Other Ships and Boats

 * Baratie
 * Sabagashira I
 * Shimashima Shopping
 * Swanda Express
 * Full
 * St. Briss
 * Takoyaki 8
 * Karasumaru
 * Ark Maxim
 * Northheim
 * Battle Frankies
 * Pluton

Ghost Ships
A Ghost Ship in terms of reality is a ship that is seen sailing the sea without a crew. In real life, there are cases where crews go to sea and something would happen to them (for example, they all die), leaving their ship wandering alone on the waves. Accounts of ghost ships still occur today, though usually on small vessels where the crew has perished at sea through one reason or another.

In terms of fiction, a ghost ship is a vessel that is regarded as haunted, usually by the ghost, skeletons or zombies of her dead crew. The stereotype of a ghost ship is a vessel that seem unfit to float at sea yet despite its unsightly appearance is capable of floating on the sea as if it was not. Often they are portrayed as evil or cursed vessels and are feared by many who come across them.

Ghost Ships in One Piece
Several ghost ships have been encountered by the Straw Hat Pirates during their journey at sea. One ghost ship was a massive one that fell from the sky several hundreds of years after the death of its crew. The ship, whose origin was identified as the kingdom of St. Briss, was eventually investigated by the Straw Hat's and a salvage team lead by Masira, leading to the Straw Hats to eventually head towards the White Sea and discover the mysteries of the land of Skypiea.

Another ghost ship was encountered upon entrance in the Florian Triangle. This ship was the former ship of the Rumbar Pirates, where all of its crew were dead outside one: the former captain and musician Brook, who lived alone due to the power of his Yomi Yomi no Mi reviving him after his death.

Immediately after encountering the Rumbar ship, the Straw Hats encountered a "literal" ghost ship called Thriller Bark. Lead by Shichibukai member Gekko Moriah and his Mysterious Four, the ship was home to a menagerie of creatures including zombies revived by his Kage Kage no Mi and ghosts created from the Horo Horo no Mi of Moriah crewmate Perona. Aside from Moriah and Perona, Absalom and Doctor Hogback were the only literally living beings on the ship aside from all the victims, zombies and ghosts.

While the Flying Dutchman shares the appearance of a ghost ship, its crew are very much alive.

Trivia

 * While privateers were given their ships by their countries, many pirates actually stole their ships. It was common practice for pirate crews to swap ships when it suited them, getting a bigger and better ship than the one they sailed on; some may even have kept an extra ship to increase their fleet and threat size. However, pirates often simply burned ships of ill-favored owners and towns.