One or more large merchant ships.

Roget 273: ship, vessel, sail; craft, bottom.    navy, marine, fleet, flotilla; shipping.    man of war etc. (combatant) 726; transport, tender, storeship^†; merchant ship, merchantman; packet, liner; whaler, slaver, collier, coaster, lighter; fishing boat, pilot boat; trawler, hulk; yacht; baggala^†; floating hotel, floating palace; ocean greyhound.    ship, bark, barque, brig, snow, hermaphrodite brig; brigantine, barkantine^†; schooner; topsail schooner, for and aft schooner, three masted schooner; chasse-maree [Fr.]; sloop, cutter, corvette, clipper, foist, yawl, dandy, ketch, smack, lugger, barge, hoy^†, cat, buss; sailer, sailing vessel; windjammer; steamer, steamboat, steamship, liner, ocean liner, cruisp, flap, dab, pat, thump, beat, blow, bang, slam, dash; punch, thwack, whack; hit hard, strike hard; swap, batter, dowse^†, baste; pelt, patter, buffet, belabor; fetch one a blow; poke at, pip, ship of the line; destroyer, cruiser, frigate; landing ship, LST; aircraft carrier, carrier, flattop [Coll.], nuclear powered carrier; submarine, submersible, atomic submarine.    boat, pinnace, launch; life boat, long boat, jolly boat, bum boat, fly boat, cock boat, ferry boat, canal boat; swamp boat, ark, bully, battery, bateau [Can.], broadhorn^†, dory, droger^†, drogher; dugout, durham boat, flatboat, galiot^†; shallop^†, gig, funny, skiff, dingy, scow, cockleshell, wherry, coble^†, punt, cog, kedge, lerret^†; eight oar, four oar, pair oar; randan^†; outrigger; float, raft, pontoon; prame^†; iceboat, ice canoe, ice yacht.    catamaran, hydroplane, hovercraft, coracle, gondola, carvel^†, caravel; felucca, caique^†, canoe, birch bark canoe, dugout canoe; galley, galleyfoist^†; bilander^†, dogger^†, hooker, howker^†; argosy, carack^†; galliass^†, galleon; polacca^†, polacre^†, tartane^†, junk, lorcha^†, praam^†, proa^†, prahu^†, saick^†, sampan, xebec, dhow; dahabeah^†; nuggah^†; kayak, keel boat [U.S.], log canoe, pirogue; quadrireme^†, trireme; stern-wheeler [U.S.]; wanigan^†, wangan [U.S.], wharf boat.    balloon; airship, aeroplane; biplane, monoplane, triplane^†; hydroplane; aerodrome; air balloon, pilot balloon, fire balloon, dirigible, zeppelin; aerostat, Montgolfier; kite, parachute.    jet plane, rocket plane, jet liner, turbojet, prop-jet, propeller plane; corporate plane, corporate jet, private plane, private aviation; airline, common carrier; fighter, bomber, fighter-bomber, escort plane, spy plane; supersonic aircraft, subsonic aircraft.    ... show more

Dutch: koopvaardijschip
Polish: flota handlowa