Moby Dick

Moby Dick was the Whitebeard Pirates' main flagship. Its name was revealed in the third databook.

Ship Design and Appearance
Like the other three ships seen under Whitebeard's command, the Moby Dick was a large battleship with a cachalote  figurehead. It was, however, significantly larger than the other three and even than the already large Red Force, and as the name suggests, the whale figurehead was white. Also, while the other three ships were paddle-ships, the Moby Dick did not show any paddle-wheels on its sides. The ship was coated with special resin from Sabaody Archipelago, which allows her to submerge all the way to Fishman Island at 10,000 meters below sea level.

History
With Whitebeard controlling a territory within the New World, the Moby Dick sailed through the waters of the second half of the Grand Line. Two years ago, she went to intercept the Spade Pirates after their captain and Jinbe fought.

After Rockstar, a member of Shanks' crew, had an audience with Whitebeard himself aboard the great vessel, the Moby Dick sailed to meet up with the Red Force so that Whitebeard and Shanks could talk properly. Upon breaking through a Marine blockade, the two ships met up so that their captains could discuss Teach and Ace.

After the meeting between the two captains, the Moby Dick continued her regular course. However, when it was reported that the captured Ace would be executed, the Moby Dick and the rest of Whitebeard's fleet was steered towards the locale of the anticipated execution, Marineford. Living up to Whitebeard's strength, the Moby Dick destroyed 23 Marine battleships simultaneously sent to hinder its progress as it drew closer.

Along with 43 other ships belonging to New World pirate crews subordinate to Whitebeard, the Moby Dick and the four other main ships of Whitebeard were coated and traveled to the first part of the Grand Line through Fishman Island. With this massive pirate fleet, Whitebeard's forces invaded Marineford on the day of the execution. Whitebeard's subordinate crews resurfaced after passing through the Red Line.



The Moby Dick and the three of the four other main ships continued traveling underwater until they arrived directly into the middle of the bay of Marineford, surprising the Marines. Having done so, the Moby Dick and the other ships bypassed the large battleship blockade surrounding the island. With the Moby Dick and the rest of Whitebeard's forces arriving in Marineford, the battle to save Ace began.

When Admiral Aokiji froze the entire sea to trap all the ships, Marines started to open fire against the Moby Dick, and Dracule Mihawk slashed at the vessel, with the intention to sink it, but all attempts were negated by the crew. Halfway through the war, when the Marines had set the siege wall to entrap the pirates, Admiral Akainu rained meteoric magma down to melt the ice. Several of the meteors struck the Moby Dick, setting the ship ablaze and ultimately leading to its destruction, much to Whitebeard's sorrow and the crew's fury, as the ship had served them for decades. As the Moby Dick burned and sank, Whitebeard apologized for being unable to save it.

Anime and Manga Differences


Originally in the anime, the Moby Dick's figurehead and stern were colored blue like a regular blue whale, like the other paddle ships of the Whitebeard Pirates. It also has less cannons on the starboard in its debut, making the ship look visually smaller than later on. Later in the anime however, the figurehead was changed to white in order to match the manga, and the ship was given more cannons on the side to make it look bigger.

Also, in its emerging in Marineford, the Moby Dick's resin coating can be barely seen in the manga, but is far more noticeable in the anime due to the colored appearance of the ship.

Another difference shown in the anime is that when Akainu set the Moby Dick on fire, the Whitebeard Pirates tried to put it out, but ultimately failed when more meteors came raining down. This scene was not shown in the manga, as the ship simply burned as the crew watched in fury.

Trivia

 * The ship's name and design is based on the classic tale "Moby Dick", where the titular character was a white sperm whale. Ironically, the original Moby Dick was victim to coloring issues, being described as having a white head leading most artists to depict it as a totally white whale.
 * ​From the early eighteenth century through the late 20th, the species was a prime target of  whalers. The head of the whale contains a liquid wax called  spermaceti, from which the whale derives its name. Spermaceti was used in lubricants, oil lamps, and candles.  Ambergris, a waste product from its digestive system, is still used as a fixative in perfumes. Occasionally the sperm whale's great size allowed it to defend itself effectively against whalers. The species is now protected by a whaling moratorium, and is currently listed as  vulnerable by the  International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
 * Aside from the Moby Dick, the Whitebeard Pirates possess at least four ships of similar design, but with a blue coloring and paddles on the sides.

Merchandise
Figurines of Moby Dick are presented in several merchandise series, particularly in One Piece Wobbling Pirate Ship Collection and One Piece Super Ship Collection.

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