In the Neolithic age, most coastal settlements were built on platforms by the river or the sea. The demand for transportation, the desire for aquatic resources and the observation that wood surfaced prompted people to invent the earliest water transportation-canoe.

At present, the oldest known image depicting ships is the bronze age rock painting of Kvarsson in northern Norway, which has a history of 6000 years. The picture shows two reindeer hunters and their prey on a boat.

In 3 100 BC, the ancient Egyptians began to put together wooden boards to build a hull and use wooden boats to transport goods on the Nile.

In 800 BC, in order to meet the needs of long-distance navigation and trade, Phoenicians invented heavy sailless merchant ships and multi-layer paddle warships with collision angles.

Around 700 A.D., China successively invented watertight compartments with four-corner longitudinal sails, small boats and stay cables, and gradually formed three types of ships, namely, blessing ship, wide ship and sand ship.

In A.D. 1782, Watt developed a reciprocating steam engine. Because of its reliable operation, low coal consumption and high power, it has brought revolutionary changes to the shipbuilding industry, and the development of ships has gradually entered age of steam.

Classification of ships (by purpose)

1. scientific research ship: a ship that conducts marine scientific research.

2. Engineering ship: a ship that carries out maintenance and repair work on a sailing ship or works on water and underwater.

3. Fishing boat: A boat suitable for fishing.

4. Container ship: a ship, such as a barge, that specializes in transporting containers.

5. Oil tanker: a ship used to transport liquids.

6. Passenger ship: a large ship carrying passengers.

7. Non-merchant ships: ships used for non-commercial purposes.

8. Warships: Ships used for military purposes, such as cruisers and destroyers, and ships owned by the army whose ships are not used for military purposes also belong to this category.