This is a list of the oldest ships in the world which have survived to this day without significantly losing their original form. It includes warships, yachts, tall ships, and vessels recovered during archaeological excavations. It does not include reconstructions or replicas, partially complete wreckage, or ships which have been located but remain underwater. For example, the Mary Rose, whose remains consist only of a partial hull, is not included here. Vessels listed are sorted by date of launching as most accurately known.
Names | Year of construction | Type | Country/area of origin | Current location | LOA | Displacement (tons) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pesse canoe | 8040 BC[1] | Canoe | Netherlands, Europe | Assen, Netherlands | 9.75 ft (2.97 m) | Believed to be the oldest boat in existence | |
Dufuna canoe | 8500 BP (6550 BC)[2] | Canoe | Nigeria, Africa | Yobe State, Nigeria | 28 ft (8.5 m) | Oldest boat discovered in Africa, second oldest boat worldwide | |
Khufu ship | 2500 BC | Ritual barge | Egypt | Giza, Egypt | 142 ft (43 m) | Oldest known intact ship[3] | |
Dover Bronze Age boat | 1500 BC | Seagoing boat | United Kingdom | Dover, United Kingdom | 31 ft (9.4 m) | Oldest known seagoing vessel[4] | |
Ma'agan Michael ship | 400-500 BC | Trade ship | Israel | Ma'agan Michael | 37 ft (11 m) | 25 | |
Kyrenia ship | 400-300 BC | Trade ship | Cyprus | Kyrenia | 47 ft (14 m) | ||
Hjortspring boat | 400-300 BC[5] | Denmark | National Museum of Denmark | 18 m | Oldest known clinker built vessel | ||
Nydam Boat | 320-310 BC | Denmark | Gottorf Castle, Germany | 23 m | |||
Sea of Galilee Boat | 50 BC - 70 AD | Fishing boat | Israel | Sea of Galilee | 27 ft (8.2 m) | ||
Arles Rhône 3 | 1st century | River trading vessel | Ancient Rome | Arles, France | 31 m (102 ft) | ||
Salme ships | 700-750 | Viking ship | Estonia | Tallinn, Estonia | Legendarily tied to King Ingvar of Sweden. | ||
Oseberg ship | 820[6] | Viking ship | Vestfold | Oslo, Norway | 71 ft (22 m) | ||
Gokstad ship | 900[7] | Viking ship | Vestfold | Oslo, Norway | 76 ft (23 m) | Uncovered by digging in 1880 | |
Skuldelev 2 | 1042 | Viking ship | Dublin | Roskilde, Denmark | 98 ft (30 m) | Second largest Viking ship discovered. | |
Bremen cog | 1380[8] | Trading cog | Germany | Bremerhaven, Germany | 79 ft (24 m) | 130 | |
Vasa | 1627[9] | Sailing warship | Sweden | Stockholm, Sweden | 226 ft (69 m) | 1330 | Sank 1628; salvaged 1961 |
HMS Victory | May 7, 1765[10] | 1st Rate ship-of-the-line | United Kingdom | Portsmouth, England | 228 ft (69 m) | 3500 | Oldest commissioned naval vessel |
USS Philadelphia | 1776[11] | Sailing warship | United States | Washington, D.C. | 53 ft (16 m) | 32 | Sank 1776; salvaged 1935 |
Peggy | 1789[12] | Private yacht | Isle of Man | Castletown, Isle of Man | 27 ft (8.2 m) | Oldest surviving Manx ship; also the oldest surviving schooner | |
USS Constitution | 1797[13] | Sailing warship | United States | Boston, Massachusetts | 203.3 ft (62.0 m) | 2200 | Oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat |
Tilikum | after 1800[14] | Dugout canoe | Canada | Victoria, British Columbia | 38 ft (12 m) | ||
HMS Trincomalee | 1817[15] | Sailing frigate | India | Hartlepool, England | 150.45 ft (45.86 m) | ||
HMS Unicorn | 1824[16] | Sailing frigate | United Kingdom | Dundee, Scotland | 151.9 ft (46.3 m) | ||
Charles W. Morgan | 1841[17] | Whaler | United States | Mystic, Connecticut | 113 ft (34 m) | Oldest surviving merchant ship; also the only surviving wooden whaling ship | |
Dom Fernando II e Glória | 1843[18] | Frigate | Portuguese India | Almada, Portugal | 284 ft (87 m) | 1800 | Last sailing frigate of the Portuguese Navy |
SS Great Britain | 1843[19] | Ocean liner | United Kingdom | Bristol, England | 322 ft (98 m) | 3700 | First iron-hulled steamship to cross the Atlantic |
Brandtaucher | 1850[20] | Submarine | Germany | Dresden, Germany | 27 ft (8.2 m) | Location of first recorded submarine escape | |
Edwin Fox | 1853[21] | Merchant Ship | India | Picton, New Zealand | 157 ft (48 m) | 830 | Only remaining Australian convict ship |
USS Constellation | 1854[22] | Sailing warship | United States | Baltimore, Maryland | 199 ft (61 m) | 1570 | Reconstructed in 1854 using materials from USS Constellation (1797) |
Skibladner | 1856[23] | paddle steamer | Norway | Gjøvik, Norway | 164 ft (50 m) | ||
Jylland | 1860[24] | Frigate | Denmark | Ebeltoft, Denmark | 233 ft (71 m) | ||
HMS Warrior | 1860[25] | Ironclad | United Kingdom | Portsmouth, England | 420 ft (130 m) | 10,100 | First armour-plated, iron-hulled warship |
BAP Puno | 1861 | Hospital ship | United Kingdom | Lake Titicaca, Perú | 100 ft (30 m) | Laid down as river gunboat Yapura, converted into hospital ship late 1970s. | |
CSS H. L. Hunley | 1863[26] | Submarine | Confederate States of America | Charleston, South Carolina | 40 ft (12 m) | 8 | First submarine to sink an enemy warship |
Star of India | 1863[27] | Windjammer | Isle of Man | San Diego, California | 278 ft (85 m) | Oldest ship in regular use | |
City of Adelaide | 1864[28] | Clipper | United Kingdom | Adelaide, South Australia | 244 ft (74 m) | 800 | Oldest surviving clipper ship |
Al Mahroussa | 1865[29] | Motor Yacht | United Kingdom | Alexandria, Egypt | 478 ft (146 m) | 3762 | Royal Yacht built for Isma'il Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt. Renamed El Horriya for some time, it was renamed back to Al Mahroussa in September 2000 by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak |
Huascar | 1865[30] | Monitor | United Kingdom | Talcahuano, Chile | 219 ft (67 m) | 1300 | Oldest vessel of the Chilean Navy |
HNLMS Buffel | 1868[30] | Ironclad | United Kingdom | Rotterdam, Netherlands | 196 ft (60 m) | 2600 | |
HNLMS Schorpioen | 1868[30] | Ironclad | France | Den Helder, Netherlands | 196 ft (60 m) | 2400 | |
SS Enköping | 1868[31] | Steam ship | Sweden | Stockholm, Sweden | 99 ft (30 m) | Built as a steam passenger ferry. Now motorised, but still in passenger service. | |
Cutty Sark | 1869[32] | Clipper | United Kingdom | Greenwich, England | 280 ft (85 m) | 2100 | Extensively restored 2007–2012 |
Lewis R. French | 1871[33] | Schooner | United States | Camden, Maine | 101 ft
(31 m) |
Active freight carrier until 1971 at which time was refit for passenger use. Active member of Camden, Maine Schooner fleet. She is the last schooner remaining of thousands built in Maine during the 19th century. | |
SMS Leitha | 1871[34] | River monitor | Austria-Hungary | Budapest, Hungary | 166 ft (51 m) | Only surviving ship of the Austro-Hungarian Navy | |
Gjøa | 1872[35] | Sloop | Norway | Oslo, Norway | 70 ft (21 m) | First vessel to transit the Northwest Passage. | |
Meiji Maru | 1873[36] | Lighthouse tender | Japan | Tokyo, Japan | 249.3 ft (76.0 m) | ||
HNoMS Rap | 1873[37] | Torpedo boat | United Kingdom | Horten, Norway | 60 ft (18 m) | 8 | |
ARA Uruguay | 1874[38] | Corvette | United Kingdom | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 150 ft (46 m) | 600 | |
James Craig | 1874 | Tall Ship | Scotland | Sydney, Australia | 70m | 646 net | Iron-hulled merchant ship restored by Sydney Heritage fleet, has a motor in but still sails under own power multiple times a month |
HSwMS Sölve | 1875[39] | Monitor | Sweden | Gothenburg, Sweden | 131 ft (40 m) | 500 | |
Elissa | 1877[40] | Barque | United Kingdom | Galveston, Texas | 141 ft (43 m) | 600 | |
Governor Stone | 1877 | Schooner | United States | Panama City, Florida | 39 ft (12 m) | ||
SY Lady of the Lake | 1877[41] | Steam yacht | United Kingdom | Ullswater, England | 97 ft (30 m) | Built for passenger service on Ullswater, in the English Lake District. Now motorised, but still in service. | |
Falls of Clyde | 1878[42] | Windjammer | United Kingdom | Honolulu, Hawaii | 280 ft (85 m) | 1800 | Only surviving sail-driven oil tanker |
HMS Gannet | 1878[43] | Sloop-of-war | United Kingdom | Chatham, England | 170 ft (52 m) | 1100 | |
Lady Elizabeth | 1879[44] | Barque | United Kingdom | Stanley, Falkland Islands | 223 ft (68 m) | 1200 | Beached since 1936 |
Joseph Conrad | 1882 | Sailing ship | Denmark | Mystic, Connecticut | 118 ft (36 m) | ||
BAE Abdon Calderon | 1884[45] | Gunboat | United Kingdom | Guayaquil, Ecuador | 131 ft (40 m) | 300 | |
Coronet | 1885[46] | Schooner Yacht | United States | Newport, Rhode Island | 190 ft (58 m) | 230 | a wooden-hull schooner yacht built in 1885 in Brooklyn, New York for racing, is one of the oldest and largest schooner yachts in the world |
Partridge | 1885[47] | Gaff Cutter | United Kingdom | La Ciotat, France | 71.78 ft (21.88 m) | 28 | Partridge is the oldest, fully functioning classic racing yacht in the world and was built by John Beavor-Webb. She is based at Classic Works in La Ciotat, France.[48] |
Polly Woodside | 1885[49] | Barque | Belfast | Melbourne, Australia | 192 ft (59 m) | 1100 | Polly Woodside is typical of thousands of smaller iron barques built in the last days of sail, intended for deep water trade around the world and designed to be operated as economically as possible. |
Balclutha | 1886[50] | Full-rigged ship | United Kingdom | San Francisco , California | 301 ft (92 m) | 4100 | |
Sigyn | 1887 | Barque | Gothenburg, Sweden | Turku, Finland | 189 ft (57.5 m) | Last remaining wooden barque used for trade across the oceans. | |
af Chapman | 1888[51] | Full-rigged ship | United Kingdom | Stockholm, Sweden | 290 ft (88 m) | ||
Arthur Foss | 1889[52] | Tugboat | United States | Seattle, Washington (state) | 129 ft (39 m) | Likely oldest wooden tugboat afloat | |
MY Raven | 1889[53] | Steam yacht | United Kingdom | Ullswater, England | 112 ft (34 m) | Built for passenger service on Ullswater, in the English Lake District. Now motorised, but still in service. | |
Fram | 1892[54] | Schooner | Norway | Oslo, Norway | 128 ft (39 m) | 402 | Sailed farther north and south than any other wooden vessel |
USS Olympia | 1892[55] | Protected cruiser | United States | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 344 ft (105 m) | 6300 | Only surviving ship from the Spanish–American War |
Turbinia | 1894[56] | Experimental steamship | United Kingdom | Newcastle upon Tyne, England | 102 ft (31 m) | 45 | First turbine-powered ship |
Vridni | 1894[57] | Tugboat | Austria-Hungary | Split, Croatia | 42 ft (13 m) | 10 | |
C.A. Thayer | 1895[58] | Schooner | United States | San Francisco , California | 219 ft (67 m) | 500 | |
Belem | 1896[59] | Barque | France | Nantes, France | 190 ft (58 m) | 500 | |
Glenlee | 1896[60] | Barque | United Kingdom | Glasgow, Scotland | 246 ft (75 m) | 3000 | |
ARA Presidente Sarmiento | 1897[61] | Training ship | United Kingdom | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 267 ft (81 m) | 3000 | |
William B. Tennison | 1899 | Bugeye | United States | Solomons Island, Maryland | 60.5 ft. | Built as a sailing bugeye at Crab Island MD in 1899 converted to engine power in 1912. Still operating as a US Coast Guard Licensed Passenger Vessel. The Tennison is a National Historic Landmark operated by The Calvert Marine Museum. | |
Mikasa | 1900 | Pre-dreadnought battleship | United Kingdom | Yokosuka, Japan | 432 ft (132 m) | 15140 | The last remaining example of a pre-dreadnought battleship. |
MV Chauncy Maples | 1901 | Motor ship | United Kingdom | Malawi | 126 ft (38 m) | 250 | Africa's oldest motor ship[62] |
Gazela | 1901 | Barquentine | Portugal | Philadelphia | 177 ft (54 m) | 652 | Museum ship |
Aurora | 1903 | Protected Cruiser | Russia | Saint Petersburg | 416 ft (127 m) | 6731 | Museum Ship |
Hercules | 1907 | Tugboat | United States | San Francisco | 151 ft (46 m) | 409 | Museum Ship |
SS Nyanza | 1907 | cargo ship | United Kingdom | Kenya | 812 | Although delerict, she still retains her original engines and boilers | |
Dar Pomorza | 1910 | Frigate | Germany | Poland | 267 ft
(81,5 m) |
2500 | Museum ship in Gdynia (Poland) |
Georgios Averof | 1910 | Armored Cruiser | Greece | Palaio Faliro, Athens, Greece | 459.7 ft (140.1 m) | 10200 | Museum Ship open for tours |
SS Nomadic | 1911 | Tender | Belfast | Belfast | 220 ft (67 m) | 1273 | The last remaining White Star Line ship. |
MV Cartela | 1912 | Ferry | Australia | Hobart, Tasmania | 123 ft (37 m) | 260 | Continuous operation, now under restoration returning to steam. W.W.1. R.A.N. |
Chacon | 1912 | Fishing Boat | United States | Chugiak, Alaska | 72 ft (22 m) | 100 | Memorial |
May Queen | 1912 | Barge | Australia | Hobart, Tasmania | 69 ft (21 m) | 90 | Restored afloat display of the Tasmanian Maritime Museum Constitution Dock, Hobart. |
CSS Acadia | 1913 | Hydrographic Surveying Ship | Canada | Halifax, Canada | 182 ft (55 m) | 1700 | Also a former Canadian Navy Patrol Vessel |
Kommuna | 1913 | Salvage Vessel | Russia | Sevastopol, Russia | 315 ft (96 m) | Oldest ship in actual active service with any navy (USS Constitution and HMS Victory are older, but have only "ceremonial" role). | |
SS Rusinga | 1913 | cargo ship | United Kingdom | Kenya | 220 ft (67 m) | 1300 | Still operational as of 2005[63] |
Statsraad Lehmkuhl | 1914 | School sailing ship | Bergen, norway | ||||
HMS Caroline | 1914 | Light Cruiser | United Kingdom | Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK | 420 ft (128.0 m) | 3750 | Only remaining ship from the Battle of Jutland. Was second oldest ship in the Royal Navy when decommissioned in 2011. Currently undergoing major restoration |
USS Texas | 1914 | Dreadnought Era World War I Battleship | United States | San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, Texas | 573 ft (175 m) | 27,000 | The last remaining World War I era dreadnought battleship. Also one of six remaining ships that served in World War I and World War II |
MV Liemba | 1915 | cargo ship | German Empire | Tanzania | 234.25 ft (71.40 m) | 1575 | Scuttled during the Battle for Lake Tanganyika during the First World War, she was later raised by the British and is still an active ferry to this day |
HMS M33 | 1915 | Monitor | United Kingdom | Portsmouth, England | 177 ft (54 m) | 580 | Museum Ship |
SS Klondike | 1921 | Sternwheeler | Canada | Whitehorse, Yukon | 210 ft (64 m) | 1226.25 | Museum Ship open for tours |
STS Sedov | 1921 | Barque | Germany | Russia | 117.5 ft (35.8 m) | 7400 | Sail Training Vessel |
PS Sudan | 1921[64] | paddle steamer | Scotland | River Nile | 228 ft (69 m) | 600 | Currently used for River cruises along the Nile River[65] |
SS Delphine | 1921 | Steam Ship | United States | Monaco | 257.8 ft (78.6 m( | 1961 |
The content is sourced from: https://handwiki.org/wiki/Engineering:List_of_oldest_surviving_ships