View source for Shipbuilding

{{short description|Construction of ships and floating vessels}}
{{about|the construction of ships|the song|Shipbuilding (song)}}
{{redirect|Shipwright}}
{{distinguish|Boat building}}
{{Admiralty law}}
[[File:Shipbuilding.png|alt=Shipbuilding.png|thumb|Shipbuilding]]
'''Shipbuilding''' is the [[construction]] of [[ship]]s and other [[Watercraft|floating vessels]]. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a [[shipyard]]. '''Shipbuilders''', also called '''shipwrights''', follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before [[recorded history]].

Until recently, with the development of complex non-maritime technologies, a ship has often represented the most advanced structure that the society building it could produce.{{r|Adams 2013|at=ch1}} Some key industrial advances were developed to support shipbuilding, for instance the sawing of timbers by [[Saw#Mechanically powered saws|mechanical saws]] propelled by [[windmill]]s in Dutch shipyards during the first half of the 17th century.{{efn|Wind-powered sawmills gave a huge productivity advantage over hand-sawn timber. 60 beams could be sawn in 4 to 5 days by the wind-powered saw, whilst hand-sawing the same quantity would take about 120 days.}}<ref name="Duivenvoorde 2015">{{cite book |last1=Van Duivenvoorde |first1=Wendy |title=Dutch East India Company shipbuilding: the archaeological study of Batavia and other seventeenth-century VOC ships |date=2015 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |location=College Station |isbn=978-1-62349-231-1 |edition=1st}}</ref>{{rp|34–37}} The design process saw the early adoption of the [[logarithm]] (invented in 1615) to generate the curves used to produce the shape of a [[hull (watercraft)|hull]], especially when scaling up these curves accurately in the mould [[Lofting|loft]].<ref name="Adams 2013">{{cite book |last1=Adams |first1=Jonathan |title=A maritime archaeology of ships: innovation and social change in late medieval and early modern Europe |date=2013 |publisher=Oxbow Books |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-78297-045-3 |edition=1st |chapter=Shipwrights and status}}</ref>

Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both commercial and military, are referred to as [[naval architecture|naval engineering]]. The construction of [[boat]]s is a similar activity called [[boat building]].

The dismantling of ships is called [[ship breaking]].

The earliest evidence of maritime transport by [[human|modern humans]] is the settlement of [[Australia (continent)|Australia]] between 50,000 and  60,000 years ago. This almost certainly involved [[raft]]s, possibly equipped with some sort of [[sail]].<ref name="O'Connor and Hiscock">{{cite book |last1=O'Connor |first1=Sue |last2=Hiscock |first2=Peter |editor1-last=Cochrane |editor1-first=Ethan E |editor2-last=Hunt |editor2-first=Terry L. |title=The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Oceania |date=2018 |publisher=OUP |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-992507-0 |chapter=The Peopling of Sahul and Near Oceania}}</ref>{{rp|29, 33}} Much of the development beyond that raft technology occurred in the "nursery" areas of the [[Mediterranean]] and in [[Maritime Southeast Asia]]. Favoured by warmer waters and a number of inter-visible islands, boats (and, later, ships) with water-tight hulls (unlike the "flow through" structure of a raft) could be developed.<ref name="McGrail 2014b">{{cite book |last1=McGrail |first1=Sean |title=Early ships and seafaring: water transport beyond Europe |date=2014 |publisher=Pen and Sword Books Limited |location=Barnsley |isbn=978-1-4738-2559-8}}</ref>{{rp|113}}<ref name="McGrail 2014a">{{cite book |last1=McGrail |first1=Sean |title=Early ships and seafaring: European water transport |date=2014 |publisher=Pen and Sword Archaeology |location=South Yorkshire, England |isbn=978-1-78159-392-9}}</ref>{{rp|7,63}} The ships of [[ancient Egypt]] were built by joining the hull planks together, edge to edge, with tenons set in mortices cut in the mating edges. A similar technique, but with the tenons being pinned in position by dowels, was used in the Mediterranean for most of [[classical antiquity]]. Both these variants are "shell first" techniques, where any reinforcing frames are inserted after assembly of the planking has defined the hull shape.{{r|McGrail 2014a|pp=81–88}} [[Carvel (boat building)|Carvel construction]] then took over in the Mediterranean. [[Northern Europe]] used [[clinker (boat building)|clinker construction]], but with some flush-planked ship-building in, for instance, the bottom planking of [[cog (ship)|cog]]s.{{r|Adams 2013|at=ch4}} The north-European and Mediterranean traditions merged in the late 15th century, with carvel construction being adopted in the North and the centre-line mounted rudder replacing the quarter rudder of the Mediterranean. These changes broadly coincided with improvements in sailing rigs, with the three masted ship becoming common, with square sails on the fore and main masts, and a fore and aft sail on the mizzen.

Ship-building then saw a steady improvement in design techniques and introduction of new materials. [[Iron]] was used for more than [[fastener|fastenings]] ([[nail (fastener)|nail]]s and [[bolt (fastener)|bolt]]s) as structural components such as iron [[Glossary of nautical terms (A–L)#knee|knees]] were introduced, with examples existing in the mid-18th century and from the mid-19th century onwards. This was partly led by the shortage of "compass timber", the naturally curved [[Lumber|timber]] that meant that shapes could be cut without weaknesses caused by cuts across the [[wood grain|grain]] of the timber.{{r|Adams 2013|at=ch8}} Ultimately, whole ships were made of iron and, later, [[steel]].

==History==

===Pre-history===
The earliest known depictions (including paintings and models) of shallow-water [[sailing boat]]s is from the 6th to 5th millennium BC of the [[Ubaid period]] of [[Mesopotamia]]. They were made from bundled [[Reed (plant)|reed]]s coated in [[bitumen]] and had bipod masts. They sailed in shallow coastal waters of the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carter |first=Robert |date=2006-03-01 |title=Boat remains and maritime trade in the Persian Gulf during the sixth and fifth millennia BC |url=https://www.academia.edu/173149 |journal=Antiquity |language=en |volume=80 |issue=307 |pages=52–63 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X0009325X |s2cid=162674282 |issn=0003-598X}}</ref>

===4th millennium BC===
====Ancient Egypt====
Evidence from [[Ancient Egypt]] shows that the early [[Egyptians]] knew how to assemble [[Plank (wood)|planks of wood]] into a [[hull (watercraft)|ship hull]] as early as 3100&nbsp;BC. Egyptian pottery as old as 4000 BC shows designs of early fluvial boats or other means for navigation. The [[Archaeological Institute of America]] reports<ref name="AIA">Ward, Cheryl. "[http://www.archaeology.org/0105/abstracts/abydos3.html World's Oldest Planked Boats]", in ''[[Archaeology (magazine)|Archaeology]]'' (Volume 54, Number 3, May/June 2009). [[Archaeological Institute of America]].</ref> that some of the oldest ships yet unearthed are known as the [[Ancient Egyptian Boats (First Dynasty) – Abydos|Abydos boats]]. These are a group of 14 ships discovered in [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] that were constructed of [[Plank (wood)|wooden plank]]s which were "sewn" together. Discovered by Egyptologist [[David O'Connor (Egyptologist)|David O'Connor]] of [[New York University]],<ref name="AIA2">Schuster, Angela M.H. "[http://www.archaeology.org/online/news/abydos.html This Old Boat]", 11 December 2000. [[Archaeological Institute of America]].</ref> woven [[strap]]s were found to have been used to lash the planks together,<ref name="AIA" /> and [[Cyperus papyrus|reeds]] or grass stuffed between the planks helped to seal the seams.<ref name="AIA" /> Because the ships are all buried together and near a mortuary belonging to [[Khasekhemwy|Pharaoh Khasekhemwy]],<ref name="AIA2" /> originally they were all thought to have belonged to him, but one of the 14 ships dates to 3000&nbsp;BC,<ref name="AIA2" /> and the associated pottery jars buried with the vessels also suggest earlier dating.<ref name="AIA2" /> The ship dating to 3000&nbsp;BC was about 75&nbsp;feet (23&nbsp;m) long<ref name="AIA2" /> and is now thought to perhaps have belonged to an earlier pharaoh.<ref name="AIA2" /> According to professor O'Connor, the 5,000-year-old ship may have even belonged to [[Hor-Aha|Pharaoh Aha]].<ref name="AIA2" />

====Austronesia====
{{multiple image
|align=right
 | total_width = 600
 | image1 =Hokule'a.jpg
 | image2 =Boracay paraw sailboats 010.jpg
 | image3=Maquette Prao Musée de la Marine Paris.jpg
 | image4=Kapal Nur Al Marege, koleksi pribadi Muhammad Ridwan Alimudin, 2019.jpg
 | image5=Waka at Waitangi in the early morning.jpg
 |footer= Typical [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] ship designs, left to right:
*''[[Hōkūle{{okina}}a]]'', a replica [[Polynesia]]n voyaging [[catamaran]] with [[crab claw sail]]s
*Filipino [[outrigger boat|double-outrigger]] ([[trimaran]]) [[paraw]] with a [[crab claw sail]]
*A [[Melanesia]]n [[outrigger boat|single-outrigger]] [[tepukei]] with a forward-mounted [[crab claw sail]] from the [[Solomon Islands]]
*''Nur al Marege'', an [[Indonesia]]n replica of a [[padewakang]] with [[tanja sail]]s
*[[Waka (canoe)|Waka]], narrow Māori [[war canoe]]s propelled by [[paddling]]
}}
{{clear}}
The [[Austronesian expansion]], which began {{circa|3000 BC}} with migration from [[Taiwanese indigenous peoples|Taiwan]] to the island of [[Luzon]] in the [[Philippines]], spread across [[Island Southeast Asia]]. Then, between 1500 BC and 1500 AD they settled uninhabited islands of the Pacific, and also sailed westward to Madagascar. This is associated with distinctive maritime technology: [[lashed-lug boat|lashed lug construction techniques]] (both in outrigger canoes and in large planked sailing vessels), various types of [[outrigger boat|outrigger]] and [[catamaran|twin-hulled]] canoes and a range of sailing rigs that included the [[crab claw sail]]. The origins of this technology is difficult to date, relying largely on linguistics (studying the words for parts of boats), the written comments of people from other cultures, including the observations of European explorers at the time of first contact and the later more systematic ethnographic observations of the types of craft in use. There is only a small body of archaeological evidence available. Since Island Southeast Asia contained effective maritime transport between its very large number of islands long before Austronesian seafaring, it is argued that Austronesians adopted an existing maritime technology from the existing inhabitants of this region.<ref name="Mahdi 2016">{{cite book |last1=Mahdi |first1=Waruno |editor1-last=Campbell |editor1-first=Gwyn |title=Early exchange between Africa and the wider Indian Ocean world |date=2016 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=Cham, Switzerland |isbn=978-3-319-33822-4 |chapter=Origins of Southeast Asian Shipping and Maritime Communication Across the Indian Ocean}}</ref>{{rp|50, 64}}<ref name="Horridge 2008">{{cite book |last1=Horridge |first1=Adrian |editor1-last=Di Piazza |editor1-first=Anne |editor2-last=Pearthree |editor2-first=Eric |title=Canoes of the Grand Ocean |date=2008 |publisher=Archaeopress |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-4073-0289-8 |chapter=Origins and Relationships of Pacific Canoes and Rigs}}</ref>{{rp|85–88}}<ref name="Anderson 2018">{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Atholl |editor1-last=Cochrane |editor1-first=Ethan E |editor2-last=Hunt |editor2-first=Terry L. |title=The Oxford handbook of prehistoric Oceania |date=2018 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-992507-0 |chapter=Seafaring in Remote Oceania Traditionalism and Beyond in Maritime Technology and Migration}}</ref>{{rp|487–488}}

[[File:Lashed-lug planking in the Butuan balangay boat Two (Clark, Green, Vosmer, & Santiago, 1993).png|left|thumb|Generalized diagram (cross-section) of [[lashed-lug]] planking in [[Balangay|Butuan Boat Two]] (Clark ''et al.'', 1993)<ref name="Clark">{{cite journal |last1=Clark |first1=Paul |last2=Green |first2=Jeremy |last3=Vosmer |first3=Tom |last4=Santiago |first4=Ray |title=The Butuan Two boat known as a balangay in the National Museum, Manila, Philippines |journal=International Journal of Nautical Archaeology |date=May 1993 |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=143–159 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-9270.1993.tb00403.x|bibcode=1993IJNAr..22..143C }}</ref>]]
Austronesian ships varied from simple canoes to large [[multihull]] ships. The simplest form of all ancestral Austronesian boats had five parts. The bottom part consists of a single piece of hollowed-out log. At the sides were two planks, and two horseshoe-shaped wood pieces formed the [[prow]] and [[stern]]. These were fitted tightly together edge-to-edge with [[dowel]]s inserted into holes in between, and then lashed to each other with ropes (made from [[rattan]] or fiber) wrapped around protruding lugs on the planks. This characteristic and ancient Austronesian boatbuilding practice is known as the "[[lashed-lug]]" technique. They were commonly [[caulk]]ed with pastes made from various plants as well as [[Paper mulberry|tapa bark]] and fibres which would expand when wet, further tightening joints and making the hull watertight. They formed the shell of the boat, which was then reinforced by horizontal ribs. Shipwrecks of Austronesian ships can be identified from this construction as well as the absence of metal nails. Austronesian ships traditionally had no central rudders but were instead steered using an oar on one side.<ref name="horridge2008">{{cite book|first1=Adrian|last1=Horridge|editor1-first=Anne|editor1-last=Di Piazza|editor2-first=Erik|editor2-last=Pearthree|name-list-style=vanc|title=Canoes of the Grand Ocean|chapter=Origins and Relationships of Pacific Canoes and Rigs|publisher=Archaeopress|series=BAR International Series 1802|year=2008|isbn=978-1-4073-0289-8|chapter-url=http://adrian-horridge.org/downloads/Pacific%20canoes.pdf|access-date=22 October 2019|archive-date=26 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726112653/http://adrian-horridge.org/downloads/Pacific%20canoes.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="lacsina">{{cite thesis |last=Lacsina |first=Ligaya |date=2016 |title=Examining pre-colonial Southeast Asian boatbuilding: An archaeological study of the Butuan Boats and the use of edge-joined planking in local and regional construction techniques |publisher=Flinders University|type=PhD}}</ref><ref name="Heng">{{cite book |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.97 |chapter= Ships, Shipwrecks, and Archaeological Recoveries as Sources of Southeast Asian History |title=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History |year=2018 |last1=Heng |first1=Derek |isbn=978-0-19-027772-7|editor-first=David|editor-last=Ludden}}</ref><ref name="Dierking2007">{{cite book |last1=Dierking |first1=Gary |title=Building Outrigger Sailing Canoes: Modern Construction Methods for Three Fast, Beautiful Boats |date=2007 |publisher=International Marine/McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-159456-1}}</ref><ref name="Horridge1986">{{cite journal |last1=Horridge |first1=Adrian |title=The Evolution of Pacific Canoe Rigs |journal=The Journal of Pacific History |date=1986 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=83–89 |jstor=25168892|doi=10.1080/00223348608572530 }}</ref>

[[File:Naga Pelangi building without frames.jpg|thumb|Construction of the ''[[Naga Pelangi]]'' in 2004, a [[Malaysia]]n ''[[Pinas (ship)|pinas]]'', using traditional Austronesian edge-dowelled techniques. Note the protruding dowels on the upper edges of the planks and the fiber caulking in the seams.]]
Austronesians traditionally made their sails from woven mats of the resilient and salt-resistant [[pandanus]] leaves. These sails allowed Austronesians to embark on long-distance voyaging.<ref name="Kirch2012">{{cite book|first1 =Patrick Vinton|last1 =Kirch|title =A Shark Going Inland Is My Chief: The Island Civilization of Ancient Hawaiʻi|publisher =University of California Press|year =2012|pages =25–26|isbn =978-0-520-95383-3|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=CDQy8OOicF4C&pg=PA25|access-date =4 June 2020|archive-date =26 July 2020|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20200726124829/https://books.google.com/books?id=CDQy8OOicF4C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA25|url-status =live}}</ref><ref name="Gallaher2014">{{cite book |first1=Timothy |last1=Gallaher |editor1-first=Lia O'Neill M.A. |editor1-last=Keawe |editor2-first=Marsha |editor2-last=MacDowell |editor3-first=C. Kurt|editor3-last=Dewhurst | name-list-style = vanc |title ={{okina}}Ike Ulana Lau Hala: The Vitality and Vibrancy of Lau Hala Weaving Traditions in Hawai{{okina}}i|chapter =The Past and Future of Hala (''Pandanus tectorius'') in Hawaii|publisher =Hawaiʻinuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge; University of Hawaiʻi Press |year =2014|doi= 10.13140/RG.2.1.2571.4648|isbn =978-0-8248-4093-8 }}</ref>

The ancient [[Champa]] of [[Vietnam]] also uniquely developed basket-hulled boats whose hulls were composed of woven and [[resin]]-[[caulk]]ed bamboo, either entirely or in conjunction with plank [[strake]]s. They range from small [[coracle]]s (the ''[[o thúng]]'') to large ocean-going trading ships like the ''[[ghe mành]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pham |first1=Charlotte |last2=Blue |first2=Lucy |last3=Palmer |first3=Colin | name-list-style = vanc |title=The Traditional Boats of Vietnam, an Overview |journal=International Journal of Nautical Archaeology |date=May 2010 |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=258–277 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-9270.2010.00266.x|s2cid=110546116 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sox |first1=David G. |title=Cham Maritime Technology: Basket-Hulled Boats |pages=1–12 |url=https://www.academia.edu/5539681}}</ref>

===3rd millennium BC===
====Ancient Egypt====
Early Egyptians also knew how to assemble planks of wood with [[treenail]]s to fasten them together, using [[Pitch (resin)|pitch]] for [[caulking]] the seams. The "[[Khufu ship]]", a 43.6-meter vessel sealed into a pit in the [[Giza pyramid complex]] at the foot of the [[Great Pyramid of Giza]] in the [[Fourth dynasty of Egypt|Fourth Dynasty]] around 2500 BC, is a full-size surviving example which may have fulfilled the symbolic function of a [[solar barque]].  Early Egyptians also knew how to fasten the planks of this ship together with [[mortise and tenon]] joints.<ref name="AIA" />

====Indus Valley====
The oldest known tidal dock in the world was built around 2500 BC during the [[Harappan civilisation]] at [[Lothal]] near the present day Mangrol harbour on the [[Gujarat]] coast in [[India]]. Other ports were probably at [[Kot Bala]] and [[Dwarka]]. However, it is probable that many small-scale ports, and not massive ports, were used for the Harappan maritime trade.<ref>[[Gregory Possehl|Possehl, Gregory]]. Meluhha. in: J. Reade (ed.) ''The Indian Ocean in Antiquity''. London: Kegan Paul Intl. 1996, 133–208</ref> Ships from the harbour at these ancient port cities established trade with [[Mesopotamia]].<ref>(e.g. Lal 1997: 182–188)</ref>{{full citation needed|date=January 2019}} Shipbuilding and boatmaking may have been prosperous industries in ancient India.<ref name=Tripathi/> Native labourers may have manufactured the flotilla of boats used by [[Alexander the Great]] to navigate across the [[Hydaspes]] and even the [[Indus]], under [[Nearchos]].<ref name=Tripathi>Tripathi, p. 145</ref>{{full citation needed|date=January 2019}} The Indians also exported [[teak]] for shipbuilding to ancient [[Persia]].<ref name=Hourani&Carswel/> Other references to Indian timber used for shipbuilding is noted in the works of [[Ibn Jubayr]].<ref name=Hourani&Carswel>Hourani & Carswel, p. 90</ref>

===2nd millennium BC===
[[File:Succession of forms in the development of the Austronesian boat.png|thumb|Succession of forms in the development of the [[Outrigger canoe|Austronesian&nbsp;boat]]<ref name="Mahdi1999">{{cite book|first1=Waruno|last1=Mahdi|editor1-last=Blench|editor1-first=Roger|editor2-last=Spriggs|editor2-first=Matthew|name-list-style=vanc|title =Archaeology and Language III: Artefacts languages, and texts|chapter =The Dispersal of Austronesian boat forms in the Indian Ocean|volume=34|publisher=[[Routledge]]|series=One World Archaeology|year=1999|pages=144–179|isbn=978-0-415-10054-0}}</ref>]]

====Mediterranean====
The ships of Ancient Egypt's [[Eighteenth Dynasty]] were typically about 25&nbsp;meters (80&nbsp;ft) in length and had a single [[mast (sailing)|mast]], sometimes consisting of two poles lashed together at the top making an "A" shape. They mounted a single square [[sail]] on a [[Yard (sailing)|yard]], with an additional [[spar (sailing)|spar]] along the bottom of the sail. These ships could also be [[oar]] propelled.<ref>{{cite book|title=Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Ancient World|author= Robert E. Krebs, Carolyn A. Krebs|year=2003|publisher=Greenwood PressScience|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0H0fjBeseVEC&q=Shipbuilding+history&pg=RA1-PA338|isbn=978-0-313-31342-4}}</ref> The ocean- and sea-going ships of Ancient Egypt were constructed with cedar wood, most likely hailing from Lebanon.<ref>Cottrell, Leonard. ''Warrior Pharaohs''. London: Evans Brothers Ltd., 1968. {{ISBN?}}{{page needed|date=December 2024}}</ref>

The ships of [[Phoenicia]] seem to have been of a similar design.

===1st millennium BC===
====Austronesia====
Austronesians established the [[Austronesian maritime trade network]] at around 1000 to 600 BC, linking Southeast Asia with East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and later East Africa. The route later became part of the [[Spice trade]] network and the [[Maritime Silk Road]].<ref name="Manguin2016">{{cite book|first1=Pierre-Yves |last1=Manguin|editor1-first=Gwyn |editor1-last=Campbell|title =Early Exchange between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World |chapter =Austronesian Shipping in the Indian Ocean: From Outrigger Boats to Trading Ships|publisher =Palgrave Macmillan|year =2016|pages=51–76|isbn =978-3-319-33822-4|chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=XsvDDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA50}}</ref><ref name="Doran1974">{{cite journal |last1=Doran |first1=Edwin Jr. |title=Outrigger Ages |journal=The Journal of the Polynesian Society |date=1974 |volume=83 |issue=2 |pages=130–140 |url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document//Volume_83_1974/Volume_83%2C_No._2/Outrigger_ages%2C_by_Edwin_Doran_Jnr.%2C_p_130-140/p1}}</ref>{{Obsolete source|reason=This source is 48 years old in a field that has recently seen new ideas that challenge the suggested developmental history of Austronesian maritime technology|date=August 2022}}<ref name="Mahdi1999"/>

====China====
The [[naval history of China]] stems back to the [[Spring and Autumn period]] (722 BC–481 BC) of the ancient Chinese [[Zhou dynasty]]. The Chinese built large rectangular barges known as "castle ships", which were essentially floating fortresses complete with multiple decks with guarded [[Defensive wall|rampart]]s. However, the Chinese vessels during this era were essentially fluvial (riverine). True ocean-going Chinese fleets did not appear until the 10th century [[Song dynasty]].<ref name="Pham" />{{rp|20–21}}<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Maguin|first=Pierre-Yves|date=September 1980|title=The Southeast Asian Ship: An Historical Approach|journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies|volume=11|issue=2|pages=266–276|doi=10.1017/S002246340000446X|jstor=20070359|s2cid=162220129 }}</ref>

====Mediterranean====
There is considerable knowledge regarding shipbuilding and seafaring in the ancient Mediterranean.<ref>Casson, L. (1994). ''Ships and Seafaring in Ancient Times''.{{ISBN?}}{{page needed|date=December 2024}}</ref>

===1st millennium AD===
====Austronesia====
[[File:Borobudur ship.JPG|thumb|One of the Javanese [[Borobudur ship]]s ({{circa|778}}–850 AD), depicting a typical Austronesian ship with [[tanja sail]]s and [[trimaran|double outriggers]]]]
Large multi-masted seafaring ships of Southeast Asian Austronesians first started appearing in Chinese records during the [[Han dynasty]] as the ''[[k'un-lun po]]'' or ''kunlun bo'' ("ship of the ''[[kunlun slave|k'un-lun]]'' [dark-skinned southern people]").<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dick-Read |first=Robert |title=The Phantom Voyagers: Evidence of Indonesian Settlement in Africa in Ancient Times |publisher=Thurlton |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-9549231-0-5 |pages=38–40}}</ref> These ships used two types of sail of their invention, the junk sail and [[tanja sail]]. Large ships are about 50–60 metres (164–197&nbsp;ft) long, had {{convert|5.2|-|7.8|m|abbr=}} tall [[Freeboard (nautical)|freeboard]],<ref name=":11">{{Cite journal|last=Christie|first=Anthony|date=1957|title=An Obscure Passage from the "Periplus: ΚΟΛΑΝΔΙΟϕΩΝΤΑ ΤΑ ΜΕΓΙΣΤΑ"|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|volume=19|pages=345–353|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00133105|s2cid=162840685}}</ref> each carrying provisions enough for a year,<ref>{{cite book |last=Needham |first=Joseph |year=1971 |title = Science and Civilization in China, Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part III: Civil Engineering and Nautics |location = Cambridge |publisher = Cambridge University Press }}</ref>{{rp|464}} and could carry 200–1000 people. The Chinese recorded that these Southeast Asian ships were hired for passage to South Asia by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims and travelers, because they did not build seaworthy ships of their own until around the 8–9th century AD.<ref name=":6" />{{rp|276}}

[[File:Situs_civitatis_Bantam_et_Navium_Insulae_Iauae_delineatio.jpg|thumb|Illustration of a [[Djong (ship)|djong]], large Javanese trading vessel, extant until 17th century AD. Shown with the characteristic [[tanja sail]] of Southeast Asian Austronesians. Vessels like these became the basis of Southern Chinese junks.]]
Austronesians (especially from western [[Island Southeast Asia]]) were trading in the [[Indian Ocean]] as far as [[Africa]] during this period. By around 50 to 500 AD, a group of Austronesians, believed to be from the southeastern coasts of [[Borneo]] (possibly a mixed group related to the modern [[Ma'anyan people|Ma'anyan]], [[Banjar people|Banjar]], and/or the [[Dayak people]]) crossed the Indian Ocean and colonized [[Madagascar]]. This resulted in the introduction of outrigger canoe technology to non-Austronesian cultures in the [[East Africa]]n coast.<ref name="Kusuma">{{cite journal |last1=Kusuma |first1=Pradiptajati |last2=Brucato |first2=Nicolas |last3=Cox |first3=Murray P. |last4=Pierron |first4=Denis |last5=Razafindrazaka |first5=Harilanto |last6=Adelaar |first6=Alexander |last7=Sudoyo |first7=Herawati |last8=Letellier |first8=Thierry |last9=Ricaut |first9=François-Xavier |title=Contrasting Linguistic and Genetic Origins of the Asian Source Populations of Malagasy |journal=Scientific Reports |date=September 2016 |volume=6 |issue=1 |article-number=26066 |doi=10.1038/srep26066|pmid=27188237 |pmc=4870696 |bibcode=2016NatSR...626066K }}</ref>

====China====
The ancient [[China|Chinese]] also built fluvial [[ramming]] vessels as in the [[Greco-Roman]] tradition of the [[trireme]], although oar-steered ships in China lost favor very early on since it was in the 1st century China that the [[stern]]-mounted [[rudder]] was first developed. This was dually met with the introduction of the Han dynasty [[Junk (ship)|junk ship]] design in the same century. The Chinese were using square sails during the [[Han dynasty]] and adopted the Austronesian junk sail later in the 12th century.<ref name="Pham" />{{rp|20–21}} Iconographic remains show that Chinese ships before the 12th century used square sails, and the [[junk rig]] of Chinese ships is believed to be developed from [[Tanja sail|tilted sails]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 3 4642">Needham, Joseph (1971). ''Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part III: Civil Engineering and Nautics''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.{{ISBN?}}</ref>{{Rp|612–613}}

Southern Chinese junks were based on keeled and [[lashed-lug|multi-planked]] Austronesian ship known as ''po'' by the Chinese, from the Old Javanese ''parahu'',<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Zoetmulder |first=P. J. |title=Old Javanese-English dictionary |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |year=1982 |isbn=90-247-6178-6 |location=The Hague}}</ref>''{{Rp|1280}}'' Javanese ''prau'', or Malay ''perahu'' – large ship.<ref name=":22">Manguin, Pierre-Yves. 2012. "Asian ship-building traditions in the Indian Ocean at the dawn of European expansion", in: Om Prakash and D. P. Chattopadhyaya (eds), ''History of science, philosophy, and culture in Indian Civilization'', Volume III, part 7: The trading world of the Indian Ocean, 1500–1800, pp. 597–629. Delhi, Chennai, Chandigarh: Pearson.</ref>{{rp|613}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rafiek |first=M. |date=December 2011 |title=Kapal dan Perahu dalam Hikayat Raja Banjar: Kajian Semantik |journal=Borneo Research Journal |volume=5 |pages=187–200 [193]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sunyoto |first=Agus |url=https://archive.org/details/atlaswalisongo/page/n43/mode/2up?q=kun-lun |title=Atlas Walisongo |publisher=Pustaka IIMaN |year=2017 |page=21location=South Tangerang}}</ref>  Southern Chinese junks showed characteristics of Austronesian ships that they are made using timbers of tropical origin, with keeled, V-shaped hull. This is different from northern Chinese junks, which are developed from flat-bottomed riverine boats.<ref name="Pham">{{cite book|last1=Pham|first1=Charlotte Minh-Hà L.|url=https://www.academia.edu/10065854|title=Training Manual for the UNESCO Foundation Course on the Protection and Management of Underwater Cultural Heritage in Asia and the Pacific|date=2012|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=978-92-9223-414-0|chapter=Unit 14: Asian Shipbuilding (Training Manual for the UNESCO Foundation Course on the protection and management of the Underwater Cultural Heritage)}}</ref>{{rp|20–21}} The northern Chinese junks were primarily built of pine or fir wood, had flat bottoms with no keel, water-tight bulkheads with no frames, transom (squared) stern and stem, and have their planks fastened with iron nails or clamps.<ref name=":22" />{{rp|612–614}}

It was unknown when the Chinese people started adopting Southeast Asian (Austronesian) shipbuilding techniques. They may have been started as early as the 8th century, but the development was gradual and the true ocean-going Chinese junks did not appear suddenly.<ref name=":62">{{Cite journal |last=Manguin |first=Pierre-Yves |date=September 1980 |title=The Southeast Asian Ship: An Historical Approach |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=266–276 |doi=10.1017/S002246340000446X |jstor=20070359 |s2cid=162220129}}</ref>{{rp|276}}<ref>{{Citation |last=Manguin |first=Pierre-Yves |title=Relationship and Cross-Influence between South-East Asian and Chinese Shipbuilding Traditions |date=1984 |work=Final Report, SPAFA Workshop on Shipping and Trade Networks in Southeast Asia |pages=197–212 |place=Bangkok |publisher=SPAFA}}</ref>{{rp|200}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Flecker |first=Michael |date=2007 |title=The South-China-Sea Tradition: the Hybrid Hulls of South-East Asia |journal=International Journal of Nautical Archaeology |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=75–90 [83]|doi=10.1111/j.1095-9270.2006.00109.x |bibcode=2007IJNAr..36...75F |issn=1057-2414 |s2cid=161279873}}</ref> The word "po" survived in Chinese long after, referring to the large ocean-going junks.<ref name=":62" />{{rp|274}}

====Mediterranean====
In September 2011, archeological investigations done at the site of [[Portus]] in [[Rome]] revealed inscriptions in a [[shipyard]] constructed during the reign of [[Trajan]] (98–117) that indicated the existence of a shipbuilders [[guild]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Welsh|first=Jennifer|date=September 23, 2011|title=Huge Ancient Roman Shipyard Unearthed in Italy|website=[[Live Science]]|publisher=[[Future plc|Future]]|url=http://www.livescience.com/16201-rome-ancient-shipyard.html|access-date=June 23, 2021}}</ref>

===Early 2nd millennium AD===
====Austronesia====
[[File:Fijian double canoe, model, Otago Museum, 2016-01-29.jpg|thumb|[[Ship model|Model]] of a [[Fiji]]an ''[[drua]]'' with a [[crab-claw sail]] from the [[Otago Museum]], an example of an [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] ocean-going vessel]]
Roughly at this time is the last migration wave of the [[Austronesian expansion]], when the [[Polynesia]]n islands spread over vast distances across the [[Pacific Ocean]] were being colonized by the (Austronesian) [[Polynesians|Polynesian]]s from [[Island Melanesia]] using double-hulled voyaging [[catamaran]]s. At its furthest extent, there is a possibility that they may have reached the [[Americas]].<ref name="Bellwood2006">{{cite book |last1=Bellwood |first1=Peter |last2=Fox |first2=James J. |last3=Tryon |first3=Darrell |name-list-style=vanc |title=The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives |date=2006 |publisher=Australian National University Press |isbn=978-1-920942-85-4 |url=https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/comparative-austronesian-series/austronesians |access-date=23 March 2019 |archive-date=2 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402234524/https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/comparative-austronesian-series/austronesians |url-status=live }}</ref> After the 11th century, a new type of ship called djong or [[Jong (ship)|jong]] was recorded in Java and Bali.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2008 |editor-last=Hauser-Schäublin |editor-first=Brigitta |editor2-last=Ardika |editor2-first=I Wayan |title=Burials, Texts and Rituals: Ethnoarchaeological Investigations in North Bali, Indonesia |journal=Göttinger Beiträge zur Ethnologie |doi=10.17875/gup2008-416 |isbn=978-3-940344-12-0 |issn=2512-6814|doi-access=free|pages=222, 230, 267 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jákl |first=Jiří |date=2020 |title=The Sea and Seacoast in Old Javanese Court Poetry: Fishermen, Ports, Ships, and Shipwrecks in the Literary Imagination |journal=Archipel |volume=100 |issue=100 |pages=69–90 [82] |doi=10.4000/archipel.2078 |s2cid=229391249 |issn=0044-8613|doi-access=free }}</ref> This type of ship was built using wooden dowels and treenails, unlike the ''kunlun bo'' which used vegetal fibres for lashings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Manguin |first=Pierre-Yves |year=2021 |title=The assembly of hulls in Southeast Asian shipbuilding traditions: from lashings to treenails |journal=Archaeonautica |volume=21 |issue=21 |pages=137–140 [138] |doi=10.4000/archaeonautica.2397 |s2cid=251869471 |issn=0154-1854|doi-access=free }}</ref>

The empire of [[Majapahit]] used jong, built in northern Java, for transporting troops overseas.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bowring |first=Philip |title=Empire of the Winds: The Global Role of Asia's Great Archipelago |date=2019|page=115 |publisher=I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd |isbn=978-1-78831-446-6 |place=London & New York}}</ref> The jongs were transport ships which could carry 100–2000 tons of cargo and 50–1000 people, 28.99–88.56 meter in length.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Averoes |first=Muhammad |date=2022 |title=Re-Estimating the Size of Javanese Jong Ship |url=https://archive.org/details/size-of-javanese-jong |journal=Historia: Jurnal Pendidik Dan Peneliti Sejarah |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=57–64 [60–62] |doi=10.17509/historia.v5i1.39181 |s2cid=247335671|doi-access=free }}</ref> The exact number of jong fielded by Majapahit is unknown, but the largest number of jong deployed in an expedition is about 400 jongs, when Majapahit attacked Pasai, in 1350.<ref name=":23">Hill (June 1960). "[[iarchive:hikayat-raja-raja-pasai/page/2/mode/2up|Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai]]". ''Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society''. '''33''': pp. 98, 157: "Then he directed them to make ready all the equipment and munitions of war needed for an attack on the land of Pasai – about four hundred of the largest junks, and also many barges (malangbang) and galleys." See also Nugroho (2011). pp. 270, 286, quoting ''Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai'', 3: 98: "''Sa-telah itu, maka di-suroh baginda musta'idkan segala kelengkapan dan segala alat senjata peperangan akan mendatangi negeri Pasai itu, sa-kira-kira empat ratus jong yang besar-besar dan lain daripada itu banyak lagi daripada malangbang dan kelulus''." (After that, he is tasked by His Majesty to ready all the equipment and all weapons of war to come to that country of Pasai, about four hundred large jongs and other than that much more of malangbang and kelulus.)</ref>

====Europe====
[[File:Pizarroshipbuilding.jpg|thumb|right|Shipwrights building a [[brigantine]], 1541]]
Until recently, Viking [[longship]]s were seen as marking an advance on traditional [[clinker (boat building)|clinker]]-built hulls where leather thongs were used to join plank boards.<ref name="ZumerchikDanver2010">{{cite book |last1=Zumerchik |first1=John |last2=Danver |first2=Steven Laurence |title=Seas and Waterways of the World: An Encyclopedia of History, Uses, and Issues |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IBKoUXrF5p0C&pg=PA428 |year=2010 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-711-1 |pages=428–}}</ref>  This consensus has recently been challenged. Haywood<ref name="Haywood, 1999">{{cite book |last1=Haywood |first1=John |title=Dark Age Naval Power: Frankish & Anglo-Saxon Seafaring Activity |publisher=Routledge |date=1991 |page=18 |isbn=	978-0-415-06374-6 |quote=NB second edition 2006: 978-1898281436}}</ref> has argued that earlier Frankish and Anglo-Saxon nautical practice was much more accomplished than had been thought and has described the distribution of clinker ''vs.'' carvel construction in Western Europe (see map [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Continental.coast.150AD.Germanic.peoples.jpg]). An insight into shipbuilding in the North Sea/Baltic areas of the early medieval period was found at [[Sutton Hoo]], England, where a ship was buried with a chieftain. The ship was {{convert|26|m}} long and {{convert|4.3|m}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/sutton-hoo-ship-burial.html |title=Sutton Hoo ship burial |access-date=19 July 2016 |archive-date=8 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008034154/http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/sutton-hoo-ship-burial.html }}</ref> wide. Upward from the keel, the hull was made by overlapping nine [[strake]]s on either side with rivets fastening the oaken planks together. It could hold upwards of thirty men.

Sometime around the 12th century, northern European ships began to be built with a straight [[sternpost]], enabling the mounting of a rudder, which was much more durable than a [[steering oar]] held over the side. Development in the [[Middle Ages]] favored "round ships",<ref>{{Cite web    |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100430604    |title=Round ship    |website=Oxford Reference    |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]    |language=en    |access-date=14 September 2017}}</ref> with a broad beam and heavily curved at both ends. Another important ship type was the galley, which was constructed with both sails and oars.

The first extant treatise on shipbuilding was written {{circa|1436}} by Michael of Rhodes,<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael of Rhodes: A medieval mariner and his manuscript|url=http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/michaelofrhodes/|work=Meseo Galileo|publisher=Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology|access-date=12 December 2010|year=2005}}</ref> a man who began his career as an oarsman on a Venetian galley in 1401 and worked his way up into officer positions. He wrote and illustrated a book that contains a treatise on shipbuilding, a treatise on mathematics, much material on astrology, and other materials. His treatise on shipbuilding treats three kinds of galleys and two kinds of round ships.<ref>Pamela O. Long, David McGee, and Allan M. Stahl, eds. ''The Book of Michael of Rhodes: A Fifteenth-Century Maritime Manuscript'', 3 vols. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009) {{ISBN?}}</ref>

====China====
[[File:Tiangong Kaiwu Ship.jpg|thumb|right|A two-masted Chinese junk, from the ''Tiangong Kaiwu'' of [[Song Yingxing]], published in 1637]]
Shipbuilders in the [[Ming dynasty]] (1368~1644) were not the same as the shipbuilders in other Chinese dynasties, due to hundreds of years of accumulated experiences and rapid changes in the Ming dynasty. Shipbuilders in the Ming dynasty primarily worked for the government, under command of the [[Ministry of Works (imperial China)|Ministry of Public Works]].

During the early years of the Ming dynasty, the Ming government maintained an open policy towards sailing. Between 1405 and 1433, the government conducted seven diplomatic [[Ming treasure voyages]] to over thirty countries in Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and Eastern Africa. The voyages were initiated by the [[Yongle Emperor]], and led by the Admiral [[Zheng He]]. Six voyages were conducted under the Yongle Emperor's reign, the last of which returned to China in 1422. After the Yongle Emperor's death in 1424, his successor the [[Hongxi Emperor]] ordered the suspension of the voyages. The seventh and final voyage began in 1430, sent by the [[Xuande Emperor]]. Although the Hongxi and Xuande Emperors did not emphasize sailing as much as the Yongle Emperor, they were not against it. This led to a high degree of commercialization and an increase in trade. Large numbers of ships were built to meet the demand.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book|title=Ming China: Courts and Contacts 1400–1450|last1=Clunas|first1=Craig|last2=Sally K. Church|publisher=The British Museum, London|editor-last=Harrison Hall|editor-first=Jessica|pages=Chapter 22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H0gwBQAAQBAJ&q=Ming+dynasty+ship+building|title=When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405–1433|last=Levathes|first=Louise|date=2014|publisher=Open Road Media|isbn=978-1-5040-0736-8|language=en}}</ref>

The Ming voyages were large in size, numbering as many as 300 ships and 28,000 men.<ref name=":13">{{cite book|editor-last=Fernández-Armesto|editor-first=Felipe|editor-link=Felipe Fernández-Armesto|title=The Global Opportunity|volume=1|chapter=The Treasure-Ships of Zheng He: Chinese Maritime Imperialism in the Age of Discovery|first=Robert|last=Finlay|location=Aldershot|publisher=Ashgate Variorum|year=1995|page=96}}</ref> The shipbuilders were brought from different places in China to the shipyard in [[Nanjing]], including [[Zhejiang]], [[Jiangxi]], [[Fujian]], and [[Huguang]] (now the provinces of [[Hubei]] and [[Hunan]]). One of the most famous shipyards was Long Jiang Shipyard ([[:zh:龙江船厂]]), located in Nanjing near the Treasure Shipyard where the ocean-going ships were built.<ref name=":03" /> The shipbuilders could build 24 models of ships of varying sizes.<ref name=":03" />

[[File:Nanjing Treasure Ship model - rear gangway - P1080011.JPG|thumb|Full size replica of Zheng He's Treasure Ship]]
Several types of ships were built for the voyages, including ''Shachuan'' (沙船), ''Fuchuan'' (福船) and ''Baochuan'' ([[Chinese treasure ship|treasure ship]]) (宝船).<ref name=":2">{{cite book|last=Chen|first=Zhongping|title=Zou xiang duo yuan wen hua de quan qiu shi: Zheng He xia xi yang (1405–1433) Ji zhong guo yu yin du yang shi jie de guan xi|script-title=zh:走向多元文化的全球史：鄭和下西洋（1405–1433）及中國與印度洋世界的關系|trans-title=Toward a multicultural global history: Zheng He's voyages to the Western seas (1405–1433) and the relationship between China and the Indian Ocean region|language=zh|edition=First|location=Beijing|publisher=SDX Joint Company|year=2017|page=497}}</ref> Zheng He's treasure ships were regarded as ''Shachuan'' types, mainly because they were made in the treasure shipyard in Nanjing. ''Shachuan'', or 'sand-ships', are ships used primarily for inland transport.<ref name=":03" /> However, in recent years, some researchers agree that the treasure ships were more of the ''Fuchuan'' type. It is said in vol. 176 of ''San Guo Bei Meng Hui Bian'' (三朝北盟汇编) that ships made in Fujian are the best ones.<ref name=":2" /> Therefore, the best shipbuilders and laborers were brought from these places to support Zheng He's expedition.

The shipyard was under the command of [[Ministry of Works (imperial China)|Ministry of Public Works]]. The shipbuilders had no control over their lives. The builders, commoner's doctors, cooks and errands had lowest social status.<ref>Chan, Alan Kam-leung, et al. ''Historical Perspectives on East Asian Science, Technology and Medicine''. VII, World Scientific, Singapore University Press, 2003. p. 107</ref> The shipbuilders were forced to move away from their hometown to the shipyards. There were two major ways to enter the shipbuilder occupation: family tradition, or apprenticeship. If a shipbuilder entered the occupation due to family tradition, the shipbuilder learned the techniques of shipbuilding from his family and is very likely to earn a higher status in the shipyard. Additionally, the shipbuilder had access to [[business networking]] that could help to find clients. If a shipbuilder entered the occupation through an apprenticeship, the shipbuilder was likely a farmer before he was hired as a shipbuilder, or he was previously an experienced shipbuilder.

Many shipbuilders working in the shipyard were forced into the occupation. The ships built for Zheng He's voyages needed to be waterproof, solid, safe, and have ample room to carry large amounts of trading goods. Therefore, due to the highly commercialized society that was being encouraged by the expeditions, trades, and government policies, the shipbuilders needed to acquire the skills to build ships that fulfil these requirements.

Shipbuilding was not the sole industry utilising Chinese lumber at that time; the new capital was being built in Beijing from approximately 1407 onwards,<ref name=":03" /> which required huge amounts of high-quality wood. These two ambitious projects commissioned by Emperor Yongle would have had enormous environmental and economic effects, even if the ships were half the dimensions given in the ''[[History of Ming]]''. Considerable pressure would also have been placed on the infrastructure required to transport the trees from their point of origin to the shipyards.<ref name=":03" />

Shipbuilders were usually divided into different groups and had separate jobs. Some were responsible for fixing old ships; some were responsible for making the keel and some were responsible for building the helm.

* It was the [[keel]] that determined the shape and the structure of the hull of ''Fuchuan'' Ships. The keel is the middle of the bottom of the hull, constructed by connecting three sections; stern keel, main keel and poop keel. The hull spreads in the arc towards both sides forming the keel.<ref name=":2" />
* The [[Ship's wheel|helm]] was the device that controls direction when sailing. It was a critical invention in shipbuilding technique in ancient China and was only used by the Chinese for a fairly long time. With a developing recognition of its function, the shape and configuration of the helm was continually improved by shipbuilders.<ref name=":2" /> The shipbuilders not only needed to build the ship according to design, but needed to acquire the skills to improve the ships.

After 1477, the Ming government reversed its open maritime policies, enacting a series of isolationist policies in response to [[wokou|piracy]]. The policies, called ''[[Haijin]]'' (sea ban), lasted until the end of the Ming dynasty in 1644. During this period, Chinese navigation technology did not make any progress and even declined in some aspect.<ref name=":03" />

====Indian Ocean====
In the Islamic world, shipbuilding thrived at [[Basra]] and [[Alexandria]]. The [[dhow]], [[felucca]], [[baghlah]], and the [[sambuk]] became symbols of successful maritime trade around the [[Indian Ocean]] from the ports of [[East Africa]] to [[Southeast Asia]] and the ports of [[Sindh]] and [[Al-Hind|Hind]] (India) during the [[Abbasid]] period.

===Early modern===
====Bengal====
[[Mughal Empire]] had a large shipbuilding industry, which was largely centred in the [[Bengal Subah]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} Economic historian Indrajit Ray estimates shipbuilding output of Bengal during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries at 223,250&nbsp;tons annually, compared with 23,061&nbsp;tons produced in nineteen colonies in North America from 1769 to 1771.<ref name="ray174">{{Cite book |last=Ray |first=Indrajit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHOrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA174 |title=Bengal Industries and the British Industrial Revolution (1757–1857) |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-136-82552-1 |page=174}}</ref> He also assesses ship repairing as very advanced in Bengal.<ref name="ray174" />

====West Africa====
Documents from 1506, for example, refer to [[watercraft]] on the [[Sierra Leone]] river carrying 120 men. Others refer to [[Guinea coast]] peoples using war canoes of varying sizes – some 70 feet in length, 7–8&nbsp;feet broad, with sharp pointed ends, rowing benches on the side, and [[quarterdeck]]s or [[forecastle]]s build of reeds. The watercraft included miscellaneous facilities, such as cooking hearths, and storage spaces for the crew's sleeping mats.<ref name="Smith, op. cit">{{cite journal|author=Robert Smith|title= The Canoe in West African History|journal= The Journal of African History|volume=11|issue= 4 |year=1970|pages=515–533|jstor=180919|doi=10.1017/S0021853700010434|s2cid= 153336316}}</ref>

From the 17th century, some kingdoms added brass or iron cannons to their vessels.<ref>Smith, "The Canoe in West African History", ''Jrn Afr Hist'' 11:4, pp. 515–533</ref> By the 18th century, however, the use of swivel cannons on war canoes accelerated. The city-state of [[Lagos]], for instance, deployed war canoes armed with swivel cannons.<ref name="Smith, op. cit"/>

====Europe====
With the development of the [[carrack]], the west moved into a new era of ship construction by building the first regular oceangoing vessels. In a relatively short time, these ships grew to an unprecedented size, complexity, and cost.

Shipyards became large industrial complexes, and the ships built were financed by consortia of investors. These considerations led to the documentation of design and construction practices in what had previously been a secretive trade run by master shipwrights and ultimately led to the field of [[naval architecture]], in which professional designers and draftsmen played an increasingly important role.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tipping |first=Colin |date=November 1998 |title=Technical Change and the Ship Draughtsman |journal=The Mariner's Mirror |volume=84 |issue=4 |pages=458–469 |doi=10.1080/00253359.1998.10656717}}</ref> Even so, construction techniques changed only very gradually. The ships of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] were still built more or less to the same basic plan as those of the [[Spanish Armada]] of two centuries earlier, although there had been numerous subtle improvements in ship design and construction throughout this period. For instance, the introduction of [[tumblehome]], adjustments to the shapes of sails and hulls, the introduction of the wheel, the introduction of hardened copper fastenings below the waterline, the introduction of copper sheathing as a deterrent to shipworm and fouling, etc.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mccarthy |first1=Michael |year=2005 |title=Ships' Fastenings: From Sewn Boat to Steamship |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g273FGUNIFQC |location=College Station |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=978-1-60344-621-1}}</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2019}}

===Industrial Revolution===
[[File:Shipbuilding England 1858.jpg|right|thumb|Illustration of some shipbuilding methods in England, 1858]]
[[File:BT Babbitts Rotary Engine.jpg|thumb|left|Babbitt's [[rotary engine]]]]

Initially copying wooden construction traditions with a frame over which the hull was fastened, [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]]'s {{SS|Great Britain||2}} of 1843 was the first radical new design, being built entirely of wrought iron. Despite her success,  and the great savings in cost and space provided by the iron hull, compared to a copper-sheathed counterpart, there remained problems with fouling due to the adherence of weeds and barnacles. As a result, [[composite construction]] remained the dominant approach where fast ships were required, with wooden timbers laid over an iron frame (''[[Cutty Sark]]'' is a famous example). Later ''Great Britain''{{'}}s iron hull was sheathed in wood to enable it to carry a [[Copper sheathing|copper-based sheathing]].  Brunel's {{SS|Great Eastern||2}} represented the next great development in shipbuilding. Built-in association with [[John Scott Russell]], it used longitudinal [[wikt: stringer|stringer]]s for strength, inner and outer hulls, and [[Bulkhead (partition)|bulkheads]] to form multiple watertight compartments. [[Steel]] also supplanted [[wrought iron]] when it became readily available in the latter half of the 19th century, providing great savings when compared with iron in cost and weight. Wood continued to be favored for the decks.

During [[World War II]], the need for cargo ships was so great that construction time for [[Liberty ship]]s went from initially eight months or longer, down to weeks or even days. They employed production line and prefabrication techniques such as those used in shipyards today. The total number of dry-cargo ships built in the United States in a 15-year period just before the war was a grand total of two. During the war, thousands of Liberty ships and [[Victory ships]] were built, many of them in shipyards that did not exist before the war. And, they were built by a workforce consisting largely of women and other inexperienced workers who had never seen a ship before (or even the ocean).<ref>Sawyer, L.A. and Mitchell, W. H. ''The Liberty Ships: The History of the "Emergency" Type Cargo Ships Constructed in the United States During the Second World War,'' pp. 7–10, 2nd ed., Lloyd's of London Press Ltd., London, 1985. {{ISBN|1-85044-049-2}}.</ref><ref>Jaffee, Capt. Walter W. ''The Lane Victory: The Last Victory Ship in War and Peace,'' pp. 4–9, 15–32, 2nd ed., Glencannon Press, Palo Alto, California, 1997. {{ISBN|0-9637586-9-1}}.</ref><ref>Herman, Arthur.  ''Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II,'' pp. 135–16, 178–180, Random House, New York, 2012.  {{ISBN|978-1-4000-6964-4}}.</ref>

== Worldwide shipbuilding industry ==
[[File:MS Oasis of the Seas.JPG|thumb|[[MS Oasis of the Seas|MS ''Oasis of the Seas'']], the fifth largest [[passenger ship]] in the world, under construction at the [[Turku]] shipyard that was taken over by Meyer Werft in 2014]]
[[File:Hellespont Alhambra-223713 v2.jpg|thumb|right|A {{sclass2|TI|supertanker|1}} built by [[Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering]] in [[Okpo-dong]], [[South Korea]]]]

After [[World War II]], shipbuilding (which encompasses the shipyards, the marine equipment manufacturers, and many related [[Service industry|service]] and [[Knowledge economy|knowledge]] providers) grew as an important and strategic industry in a number of countries around the world. This importance stems from:
* The large number of [[skilled workers]] required directly by the shipyard, along with supporting industries such as [[steel mills]], railroads and [[engine]] manufacturers; and
* A nation's need to manufacture and repair its own [[navy]] and vessels that support its primary [[Industry (economics)|industries]]

Historically, the industry has suffered from the absence of [[International trade law|global rules]] {{Citation needed|date=September 2015}} and a tendency towards ([[Government|state]]-[[Subsidy|supported]]) over-investment due to the fact that shipyards offer a wide range of technologies, employ a significant number of workers, and generate income as the shipbuilding market is [[World economy|global]].

[[Japan]] used shipbuilding in the 1950s and 1960s to rebuild its industrial structure; [[South Korea]] started to make shipbuilding a strategic industry in the 1970s, and China is now in the process of repeating these models with large state-supported investments in this industry. Conversely, Croatia is privatising its shipbuilding industry.

As a result, the world shipbuilding market suffers from over-capacities, depressed prices (although the industry experienced a price increase in the period 2003–2005 due to strong demand for new ships which was in excess of actual cost increases), low profit margins, trade distortions and widespread subsidisation. All efforts to address the problems in the OECD have so far failed, with the 1994 international shipbuilding agreement never entering into force and the 2003–2005 round of negotiations being paused in September 2005 after no agreement was possible. After numerous efforts to restart the negotiations these were formally terminated in December 2010.  The OECD's Council Working Party on Shipbuilding (WP6) will continue its efforts to identify and progressively reduce factors that distort the shipbuilding market.

Where state [[Subsidy|subsidies]] have been removed and domestic [[industrial policies]] do not provide support in high labor cost countries, shipbuilding has gone into decline. The British shipbuilding industry is a prime example of this with its industries suffering badly from the 1960s. In the early 1970s British yards still had the capacity to build all types and sizes of merchant ships but today they have been reduced to a small number specialising in defence contracts, luxury yachts and repair work. Decline has also occurred in other European countries, although to some extent this has reduced by protective measures and industrial support policies. In the US, the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|Jones Act]] (which places restrictions on the ships that can be used for moving domestic cargoes) has meant that merchant shipbuilding has continued, albeit at a reduced rate, but such protection has failed to penalise shipbuilding inefficiencies. The consequence of this is that contract prices are far higher than those of any other country building oceangoing ships.

===Present day shipbuilding===
Beyond the 2000s, the three [[East Asia]]n manufacturing powerhouses, [[China]], [[South Korea]] and [[Japan]], have dominated world shipbuilding by completed [[gross tonnage]].<ref name=":3">{{cite web|title=Largest shipbuilding nations based on gross tonnage 2018 – Ranking|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/263895/shipbuilding-nations-worldwide-by-cgt|website=Statista}}</ref>  [[China State Shipbuilding Corporation]], [[China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation]], [[Hyundai Heavy Industries]], [[Samsung Heavy Industries]], [[Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering]] and [[Imabari Shipbuilding]] supply most of the global market for large [[container ship|container]], [[bulk carrier]], [[tanker (ship)|tanker]] and [[roll-on/roll-off|Ro-ro]] ships. During the early 2020s, Chinese shipbuilders saw an increase in orders as operators demand [[green technology|green]]er fleets.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.caixinglobal.com/2023-09-06/in-depth-low-carbon-transition-has-chinas-shipbuilders-seeing-green-102101031.html| title=In Depth: Low-Carbon Transition Has China's Shipbuilders Seeing Green| author1=You Xiaoying| author2=Li Rongqian| work=Caixin Global| date=2023-09-06}}</ref> {{As of|2023}}, China's shipbuilding output, newly received orders and orders-on-hand accounted for 50%, 67%, and 55% of the global market share, respectively, with double-digital growth of all three indexes compared to the previous year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/shipyards/china-cements-position-worlds-top-shipbuilder-2023|title=China cements position as world's top shipbuilder in 2023|date=2024-01-16|last=Si|first=Katherine|publisher=[[Seatrade Maritime News]]|access-date=2024-07-13}}</ref> According to a September 2023 report by the [[Alliance for American Manufacturing]] (based on a leaked [[presentation slide]] from an earlier [[United States Navy|USN]] briefing, verified by the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.twz.com/alarming-navy-intel-slide-warns-of-chinas-200-times-greater-shipbuilding-capacity|title=Alarming Navy Intel Slide Warns Of China's 200 Times Greater Shipbuilding Capacity|date=2023-07-11|last=Trevithick|first=Joseph|publisher=The War Zone|access-date=2025-03-05}}</ref>), China's shipbuilding capacity is 232 times greater than the United States, with a manufacturing capacity of roughly 23,250,000 million tons compared to less than 100,000 tons by U.S. shipyards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americanmanufacturing.org/blog/chinas-shipbuilding-capacity-is-232-times-greater-than-that-of-the-united-states/|title=China's Shipbuilding Capacity is 232 Times Greater Than That of the United States|date=2023-09-18|last=Adams|first=Cathalijne|publisher=[[Alliance for American Manufacturing]]|access-date=2024-06-14}}</ref>

When referring to the ship type, then China, South Korea and Japan are the producing countries of the carrier ships as mentioned above. While [[Italy]], [[France]], [[Finland]], [[Germany]], [[United Kingdom]] and other [[Europe]]an countries are the makers of [[cruise ships]] (the most), [[icebreakers]], [[crane vessel]] and so on.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

The market share of European ship builders began to decline in the 1960s as they lost work to Japan in the same way Japan most recently lost their work to South Korea and China. Over the four years from 2007, the total number of employees in the European shipbuilding industry declined from 150,000 to 115,000.<ref name=ifr>[http://www.ijf.hr/upload/files/file/ENG/newsletter/64.pdf Zagreb Institute of Public Finance], Newsletter No. 64, December 2011, {{ISSN|1333-4263}}</ref> In 2022, some key shipbuilders in Europe are [[Fincantieri]], [[Damen Group]], [[Navantia]], [[Naval Group]] and [[BAE Systems]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marineinsight.com/know-more/list-of-major-shipbuilding-companies-around-the-globe/#:~:text=Fincantieri%20S.p.A.&text=Based%20out%20of%20Italy%2C%20Fincantieri,a%20recent%20global%20expansion%20effort.|title=List of Major Shipbuilding Companies Around the Globe|date=12 October 2020|publisher=Marine Insight|access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref>

Shipbuilding output of the [[United States]] also underwent a similar change.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/05/business/worldbusiness/05iht-ships.html?_r=0| title=Korea reigns in shipbuilding, for now| author=James Brooke| work=The New York Times| date=2005-01-06| access-date=30 December 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shipbuilding.or.kr/Report/Foreign/Foreign_Review/Foreign_Review.html |title=기획특집/ 1등 조선.해양 한국에 도전하는 해외 국가별 조선산업 현황: 1)일본, 중국, 인도, 베트남, 브라질, 폴란드, 터키, 독일 조선산업의 현황과 전망/(월간 해양과조선 2008년 11월호) |publisher=Shipbuilding.or.kr |access-date=2010-11-17 |archive-date=2021-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109055008/http://www.shipbuilding.or.kr/Report/Foreign/Foreign_Review/Foreign_Review.html }}</ref> The US is ranked the 10th largest shipbuilder worldwide.{{When|date=November 2024}} The top companies that build large [[naval vessel]]s, such as [[aircraft carrier]]s and [[cruiser]]s, include [[Huntington Ingalls]], [[Bollinger Shipyards|Bollinger]] and [[General Dynamics]]. In the small to medium military vessels category, key shipbuilders include [[Vigor Industrial]], and [[VT Halter Marine]]. As the [[US Navy]] is shifting to a new fleet architecture that is more widely distributed, [[unmanned surface vehicle]]s (USVs) development is rapidly propelled to higher priority.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.usni.org/2020/07/14/navy-awards-contract-for-first-vessel-in-its-family-of-unmanned-surface-vehicles|title=Navy Awards Contract for First Vessel in its Family of Unmanned Surface Vehicles|date=15 July 2020|publisher=USNI|access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref>
Key strategic [[Program of Record]] includes prototyping and construction of up to 9 MUSVs, for which a sole contract was awarded to [[L3Harris]] Technologies, who partnered with [[Swiftships]] to build the MUSVs.<ref>{{cite web |title=L3Harris Technologies Awarded Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicles Program From US Navy |url=https://www.l3harris.com/newsroom/press-release/2020/08/l3harris-technologies-awarded-medium-unmanned-surface-vehicle |website=L3Harris}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://seapowermagazine.org/navys-medium-usv-to-be-based-on-commercial-vehicle/|title=Navy's Medium USV to be Based on Commercial Vehicle|date=19 August 2020|publisher=Sea Power Magazine|access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref>

In 2018, the [[US Defense Department]] initiated Overlord Program, and developed USV Prototypes 1 (NOMAD) and 2 (RANGER). Both of them took part in multiple fleet level exercises and demonstrations, traveled {{convert|28982|nmi|km|abbr=out}} in autonomous mode, and tested numerous payloads.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Media/News/SavedNewsModule/Article/2953947/strategic-capabilities-office-transfers-overlord-unmanned-surface-vessels-to-us/|title=Strategic Capabilities Office Transfers Overlord Unmanned Surface Vessels to US|publisher=NAVSEA Navy Portal|access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref>
Nomam, formerly known as Riley Claire, is a converted offshore patrol vessel, which was built by Swiftships.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.usni.org/2021/05/20/ghost-fleet-ship-nomad-transited-panama-canal-headed-to-california//|title=Ghost Fleet Ship Nomad Transited Panama Canal Headed to Calirfornia|date=20 May 2021|publisher=USNI|access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/06/09/navy-drone-ship-just-traveled-nearly-5000-miles-gulf-coast-california.html|title=Navy Drone Ship just Traveled Nearly 5000 miles Gulf Coast California|work=Daily News|date=9 June 2021|access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref> The objective of the [[Ghost Fleet Overlord]] program is to convert large, commercial vessels to autonomous systems.

{{As of|2024}}, China builds nearly 75% of new vessels on order<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ang |first=Irene |date=2024-11-05 |title=How China has taken a generational grip on the global shipbuilding industry |url=https://www.tradewindsnews.com/special-reports/how-china-has-taken-a-generational-grip-on-the-global-shipbuilding-industry/2-1-1723001 |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=TradeWinds {{!}} Latest shipping and maritime news |language=en}}</ref> and has the capacity to build more ships in one month than the United States builds in a year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Africk |first=Brady |date=October 7, 2024 |title=China is rapidly building warships. Satellite images reveal the scale. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/07/china-shipbuilding-navy-military/ |access-date=November 5, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>Clarksons Research wrote [https://insights.clarksons.net/2024-shipping-market-review/ here] (''2024 Shipping Market Review'') that 53 % (probably of the 2024 produced new tonnage) was produced in the PRC.</ref>

===Modern shipbuilding manufacturing techniques===
[[File:HMS Dauntless D33.jpg|thumb|right|Construction of prefabricated module blocks of {{HMS|Dauntless|D33|6}} at [[BAE Systems Surface Ships|BAE's]] [[Portsmouth]] Shipyard]]
Modern shipbuilding makes considerable use of [[prefabrication|prefabricated]] [[modular design|modular sections]]. Entire multi-deck segments of the hull or [[Superstructure (ship)|superstructure]] will be built elsewhere in the yard, transported to the building dock or slipway, then lifted into place. This is known as "block construction". The most modern shipyards pre-install equipment, pipes, electrical cables, and any other components within the blocks, to minimize the effort needed to assemble or install components deep within the hull once it is welded together.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}}

Ship design work, also called [[naval architecture]], may be conducted using a [[ship model basin]]. Previously, loftsmen at the [[mould loft]]s of [[shipyard]]s were responsible for taking the dimensions, and details from drawings and plans and translating this information into templates, battens, ordinates, cutting sketches, profiles, margins and other data.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leithshipyards.com/mould-loft/lofting.html|title=The Mould Loft|publisher=The Loftsman|access-date=19 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728185517/http://www.leithshipyards.com/mould-loft/lofting.html|archive-date=28 July 2016}}</ref> However, since the early 1970s [[computer-aided design]] became normal for the shipbuilding design and lofting process.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leithshipyards.com/mould-loft/computer-aided-design.html#|title=CAD-Computer Aided Design|publisher=The Loftsman|access-date=19 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802025720/http://www.leithshipyards.com/mould-loft/computer-aided-design.html|archive-date=2 August 2016}}</ref>

Modern ships, since roughly 1940, have been produced almost exclusively of [[welding|welded]] steel. Early welded steel ships used steels with inadequate [[fracture toughness]], which resulted in some ships suffering catastrophic [[brittle fracture]] structural cracks (see [[problems of the Liberty ship]]). Since roughly 1950, specialized steels such as [[ABS Steels]] with good properties for ship construction have been used. Although it is commonly accepted that modern steel has eliminated brittle fracture in ships, some controversy still exists.<ref>Drouin, P: "Brittle Fracture in ships – a lingering problem", p. 229. ''Ships and Offshore Structures'', Woodhead Publishing, 2006.</ref> Brittle fracture of modern vessels continues to occur from time to time because grade A and grade B steel of unknown toughness or fracture appearance transition temperature (FATT) in ships' side shells can be less than adequate for all ambient conditions.<ref>{{cite web| publisher=Transportation Safety Board of Canada| url=http://www.tsb.gc.ca/en/reports/marine/2002/m02l0021/m02l0021.asp| title=Marine Investigation Report – Hull Fracture Bulk Carrier Lake Carling| date=19 March 2002| access-date=8 October 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015204241/http://www.tsb.gc.ca/en/reports/marine/2002/m02l0021/m02l0021.asp| archive-date=15 October 2012}}</ref>

As modern shipbuilding panels on a panel line become lighter and thinner, the laser hybrid welding technique is utilized. The laser hybrid blend focuses a higher energy beam on the material to be joined, allowing it to keyhole with a much higher depth to width ratio than comparative traditional welding techniques. Typically a MIG process trails the keyhole providing filler material for the weld joint. This allows for very high penetration without excessive heat input from decreased weld metal deposited leading to less distortion and welding at higher travel speeds.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

===Ship repair industry===
[[File:Hajógyár1.JPG|thumb|River shipyard in [[Komárno]] ([[Slovakia]])]]
All ships need repair work at some point in their working lives. A part of these jobs must be carried out under the supervision of the [[classification society]].

A lot of maintenance is carried out while at sea or in port by ship's crew.
However, a large number of repair and maintenance works can only be carried out while the ship is out of commercial operation, in a ship repair yard.

Prior to undergoing repairs, a tanker must dock at a deballasting station for completing the tank cleaning operations and pumping ashore its slops (dirty cleaning water and hydrocarbon residues).

==See also==
* [[Ancient shipbuilding techniques]]
* [[Boat building]]
* [[List of shipbuilders and shipyards]]
* [[List of the largest shipbuilding companies]]
* [[List of Russian marine engineers]]
* [[Ships of ancient Rome]]
* {{annotated link|Marine propulsion}}
* {{annotated link|Shipbuilding in the American colonies}}
* [https://arcship.ae/Service/dry-docking-services-in-dubai/ Ship repair and Dry Dock]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book | last = Tripathi| first = Rama Shankar| title = History of Ancient India| publisher = Motilal Banarsidass| year = 1967 | page = 145| isbn = 81-208-0018-4}}
* {{cite book | last = Hourani| first = George Fadlo |author2=Carswel, John | author-link = George Fadlo Hourani| title = Arab Seafaring: In the Indian Ocean in Ancient and Early Medieval Times| publisher = Princeton University Press| year = 1995 | page = 90| isbn = 0-691-00032-8}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://forshipbuilding.com/ Shipbuilding Picture Dictionary]
* [http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com U.S. Shipbuilding]{{snd}}extensive information about the U.S. shipbuilding industry, including over 500 pages of U.S. shipyard construction records
* [http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160522215824/http://www.marinelink.com/Story/Shipbuilding Shipbuilding News]
* [http://www.bataviawerf.nl Bataviawerf – the Historic Dutch East Indiaman Ship Yard]{{snd}}Shipyard of the historic ships Batavia and Zeven Provincien in the Netherlands, since 1985 here have been great ships reconstructed using old construction methods.
* [http://www.bataviaphotos.com Photos of the reconstruction of the Dutch East Indiaman Batavia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020033503/http://www.bataviaphotos.com/ |date=2020-10-20 }}{{snd}}Photo web site about the reconstruction of the ''Batavia'' on the shipyard Batavia werf, a 16th-century East Indiaman in the Netherlands. The site is constantly expanding with more historic images as in 2010 the shipyard celebrates its 25th year.
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73651 Modern shipbuilding and the men engaged in it], David Pollock (London: E. & F. N. Spon, 1884).

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{{Ancient seafaring}}
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[[Category:Shipbuilding| ]]
[[Category:Shipwrights| ]]
[[Category:Naval architecture]]