Famous Ships and Boats in History

In history, movies, books, on exhibit

War ships, ship tragedies, steam ships, yachts, and more

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Chinese Ships with Sails

Keying, Junk — Chinese junk, three-masted (trading ship)
The first ship from China to visit New York where it was visited by 4,000 tourists a day paying 25 cents to board the ship and meet its crew. She was manned by 30 Chinese and 12 Englishmen, and commanded by the British Captain Charles Alfred Kellett during her travel. LAUNCHED: 1846, circa → FATE: Neglected and rotted in England in 1855.

Ning Po — Chinese 3-masted, 291 ton junk
Spent 159 years in the Yellow Sea engaging in crimes such as smuggling, slave trading, mutiny, and piracy. During the 1920s and 1930s she sat in Catalina Harbor, Santa Catalina Island, California and was used as a backdrop for movies filmed there. LAUNCHED: 1753 → FATE: Burned in Catalina Harbor in 1938.

Tek Sin — Chinese ocean-going junk
Called the "Titanic of the East" when it sank taking with it over 1,600 people. Only about 200 people survived, being rescued by another ship the next day. LAUNCHED: 1820, circa → FATE: Grounded on a reef, then sank on February 6, 1822.

(Another )

Zheng He's fleet — Chinese treasure ship
The fleet's voyages came before most of the famous European voyages of discovery. Zheng He's seven expeditions were designed to establish a Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean and control trade. The ships dwarfed European ships of that century. LAUNCHED: 1405, first voyage → FATE: Last voyage, 1430.

The number of Chinese Ships with Sails listed is 4

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For a full list of all ships, select HERE

First Ship on each page
Page	Ship Name (Country and Type)
1.	Ning Po (Chinese junk)

Chinese Ships with Sails
1.	Ning Po Chinese junk
2.	Tek Sin Chinese ocean-going junk
3.	Zheng He's fleet Chinese treasure ship

About the Data

There are more than 400 ships in this database, but the initial list is only for famous ships names that begin with letters "A-B". For other listings, use the country and type tabs.

Touching (or cursor over) a ship image produces an enlargement. Touch anywhere else (or move the cursor off the image) to close the larger image. Touching (or clicking on) any underlined name will link to a page with more information.

Although submarines are usually called boats, they are grouped with ships here.

Most of the information comes from Wikipedia.