This is a list of the oldest ships in the world which have survived to this day with exceptions to certain categories. The ships on the main list, which include warships, yachts, tall ships, and vessels recovered during archaeological excavations, all date to between 500 AD and 1918; earlier ships are covered in the list of surviving ancient ships. Vessels listed are sorted by date of launch as most accurately known. Many of the ships in the "Build location" column were built for use in other countries by the United Kingdom, which in the mid to late 1800s was a dominant worldwide ship builder. A majority of ships on this list are found in museums, and it includes examples that are the last of their kind left in the world.

List criteria While this list includes the "oldest surviving" ships, many have since been restored, and/or reconstructed. Ships that have been exposed to the elements gradually deteriorate over time, thus no ship can be considered truly original due to part replacements during a ship's life. This leads to a known paradox called the "Ship of Theseus", making the definition of "original" unclear. An example is the : the original sank in 1820 and was raised and reconstructed three times. These extensive reconstructions left little of the original ship remaining (nonstructural items). Another separate issue is incomplete ships due to weathering conditions caused by their status as a former shipwreck, or by sheer neglect. One example is the ship Mary Rose, whose raised and preserved remains consist of only a partial hull. Those that remain underwater and intact are lumped into a separate category that focuses on shipwrecks, such as those found in the Black Sea. Many surviving old ships may also appear on other Wikipedia lists such as lightvessels. Many old lightvessels survive worldwide to this day, unlike ocean liners of which there are very few pre-World War II examples.

With these things in mind, the following are excluded Replicas – There is an article on ship replicas. Underwater wrecks – There is an index with lists of shipwrecks. Ships made after 1918 – This is a list of "oldest" ships launched before 1919.

The following things are included in this page Reconstructed ships – "Restored" is fine as long as the ship retains its original features or some of its original features. Wreckage – As long as they are restored in some way and put on display as a museum exhibit. All of the ships listed below include a fully intact or partially intact hull. Ships like the Lady Elizabeth are still considered to be surviving despite their current condition of not being preserved.

Legend

N/A indicates that information is unavailable or yet to be evaluated.

Oldest ships Before 500 AD

500–1400s AD

Name Image Year of construction Type Build location Current location OveralllengthPunjulharjo boat660–780 ADLashed-lug boatIndonesia(Punjulharjo Cultural Conservation Site, Rembang Regency)51 ft (16 m)Butuan Boat 2689–940 ADLashed-lug boatPhilippinesPhilippinesButuan Boat 1777–988Lashed-lug boatPhilippinesPhilippines First Lake Mendota canoe 800 Dugout canoe United StatesUnited States Oseberg Ship 820 Viking ship Norway Norway Gokstad ship 900 Viking ship Norway Norway Tune ship900Viking shipNorwayNorwayÄskekärrskeppet10th centuryViking ship Sweden997–1030Cargo vesselNetherlandsNetherlandsSerçe Limanı Shipwreck11th centuryMerchant shipByzantine EmpireTurkey11th centuryViking shipSwedenSwedenStanley Ferry logboat1000LogboatEnglandEngland1025Viking shipNorwayDenmarkSkuldelev 11030Viking shipNorwayDenmarkSkuldelev 51030Viking shipDenmarkDenmarkSkuldelev 61030Viking shipNorwayDenmarkSkuldelev 31040Viking shipDenmarkDenmark Skuldelev 2 1042 Viking ship Kingdom of Dublin Denmark Ląd boatAfter 1125Cargo vesselPolandPoland1163Merchant shipDenmarkDenmarkQuanzhou ship1272JunkChinaChinaShinan ship14th centuryTrade shipChinaSouth Korea Bremen cog 1380 Trade ship Holy Roman Empire Germany 15th centuryCogNetherlandsNetherlandsNewport Ship1449Trade shipSpainUnited Kingdom

1500s–1859

Names Image Year of construction Type Build location Current locationOveralllengthMary Rose1511CarrackEnglandUnited Kingdom(Portsmouth)1517Sailing warshipSwedenSweden1550Transport shipSaaremaaEstonia52 ft (16 m)Tarihi KadırgaLate 16th centuryGalleyOttoman EmpireTurkey130 ft (39.64 m)Sparrow Hawk1626PinnaceEnglandUnited States40 ft (12 m) Vasa 1627 Sailing warship Swedish Empire Sweden Botik of Peter the Great 1640s Miniature Warship England or Russia Russia State Barge of Charles II1670ShallopEnglandUnited Kingdom La Belle 1684 Colony Ship Kingdom of France United States Queen Mary's Shallop1689ShallopUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom41.60 ft (12.69 m)Fortuna1689–1692BoatRussiaRussia24 ft (7.3 m)Tsar Peters Båt1697BoatNetherlandsSweden1711Royal bargeKingdom of PortugalPortugal81 ft (24 m)Bucintoro dei Savoia1729Royal bargeRepublic of VeniceItaly Prince Frederick's Barge 1732 Royal barge Great Britain United Kingdom Barque1735–1750Transport shipCanadaCanadaGaleota Pequena1753Royal bargeKingdom of PortugalPortugal HMS Victory 1765 Ship of the line Great Britain United Kingdom USS Philadelphia 1776 Gunboat United States United States Bergantim real1780Royal bargeKingdom of PortugalPortugal96 ft (29 m)Hvide Chalup1780Royal bargeDenmarkDenmarkMargaret1780Sailing yachtUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom86.9 ft (26.5 m)1787Royal bargeSwedenSweden33 ft (10 m)1787Royal bargeSwedenSweden33 ft (10 m)HMS Nancy1789SchoonerUnited StatesCanada Peggy 1789 Armed yacht Isle of Man Isle of Man Saveira Dourada1790Royal bargeKingdom of PortugalPortugal43 ft (13 m) USS Constitution 1797 Frigate United States United States Galeota da AlfândegaLate 18th centuryState bargeKingdom of PortugalPortugal38 ft (12 m)Nordic Spirit19th centuryFishing boat (now replica Viking ship)NorwayUnited StatesZetland1802LifeboatUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom1808Royal bargeKingdom of PortugalBrazil78 ft (24 m)1810Royal bargeFrench EmpireFrance59 ft (18 m)USS Ticonderoga1812–1814SchoonerUnited StatesUnited States1816–1818Royal bargeNetherlandsNetherlands55 ft (17 m) HMS Trincomalee 1817 Frigate Company Raj United Kingdom Lady Guilford1819Sailing galleyUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom HMS Unicorn 1824 Frigate United Kingdom United Kingdom Waka TauaBefore 1827WakaNew ZealandUnited KingdomOxford 1829 Boat1828Racing yachtUnited KingdomUnited KingdomPrince Miguel's barge1831Royal bargeKingdom of PortugalPortugal47 ft (14 m)Tyne1833LifeboatUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom LV16 Inner Dowsing1840LightvesselUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom87.44 ft (26.67 m) Charles W. Morgan 1841 Whaler United States United States Dom Fernando II e Glória 1843 Frigate Portuguese India Portugal Bertha 1844 Dredge United Kingdom United Kingdom Great Britain 1845 Ocean liner United Kingdom United Kingdom Brandtaucher 1850 Submarine German Confederation Germany Dolly1850LaunchUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom40.98 ft (12.50 m)Gondola1850GondolaItalyUnited StatesSnow Squall1851ClipperUnited StatesUnited States157 ft (48 m) Edwin Fox 1853 Australian convict ship Company Raj New Zealand Maria1853NarrowboatUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom Anna af Sand 1854 Hardangerjakt Norway Norway USS Constellation 1854 Sloop-of-war United States United States Francis Metallic Surfboat 1854 Boat United States United States Tudor Vladimirescu 1854 Paddle steamer Austrian Empire RomaniaVictoria 1855Racing yachtUnited KingdomUnited KingdomSantiago1856BarqueUnited KingdomAustralia160 ft 7 in (48.95 m) Skibladner 1856PS Skibladner, paddlesteamers.info, retrieved 13 February 2018. Paddle steamer Sweden–Norway Norway Gondola 1859 Steam yacht United Kingdom United Kingdom

1860–1889