Transport Fever 3 Ships List: Every Vessel Confirmed

Full Transport Fever 3 ships list: all 25 confirmed vessels, from trawlers and ferries to hovercraft, plus early-game ship strategy tips.

Water is where many transport empires begin — and in Transport Fever 3, the ships list is more important than ever. Whether you're hauling fish from a distant port, ferrying passengers across a bay, or tanking crude oil to a coastal refinery, the Transport Fever 3 ships list determines which vessels you can buy, when they unlock, and how much cargo they can push across the map. This guide covers every confirmed ship in the game, plus practical advice on putting your maritime fleet to work.

Complete Transport Fever 3 Ships List

The roster below comes from the game's art book, compiled by community members shortly before launch. Urban Games hasn't published an official in-game inventory list, so treat this as the most complete confirmed lineup available — and expect post-launch updates to expand it.

Transport Fever 3 official screenshot

Official screenshot · Source: Steam store

Ship	Likely Role	Notes
AP1-88 hovercraft	Passenger	Modern hovercraft, ideal for shallow or tricky coastlines
Canadian trawler	Cargo (fish)	Early fishing workhorse
Cap Arkona	Passenger/cargo	Mid-era coastal vessel
Damen Fast Ferry	Passenger	High-speed commuter option
Damen Tanker 800	Cargo (liquid)	Fuel and crude oil transport
Dunara Castle	Cargo	Large capacity, expensive early on
Hadag Type 2000	Passenger	Harbor ferry
Hercules XI Towboat	Utility	Moves barges and assists harbors
Luise Deymann	Passenger/cargo	Mid-century vessel
Meridian Ferry	Passenger	Larger ferry for busy routes
MS Diamant	Passenger	Classic coastal steamer
MS Stadt Kiel	Passenger	Historic German ferry
PS Trillium	Passenger	Paddle steamer for the 1850–1900 era
Solar shuttle	Passenger	Modern eco-friendly option
Sternwheeler	Passenger	River and lake paddleboat
Sydfart	Passenger/cargo	Community favorite for its quirky name
Terra Nova	Cargo	Historic expedition-style freighter
Tora coaster ship	Cargo	Short-sea coastal freight
TS Queen Mary (preorder bonus)	Passenger	Exclusive preorder vessel
Virgo Towboat	Utility	Secondary towboat option
Votrans Towboat Cargo	Cargo	Towboat with freight configuration
Votrans Towboat Tanker	Cargo (liquid)	Tanker towboat variant
Waimarie	Passenger	Historic New Zealand paddle steamer
Whopper	Cargo	Large-capacity freighter
Yara Birkeland	Cargo	Autonomous electric container ship (modern era)

That's 25 confirmed vessels spanning the game's full timeline, from the paddle steamers of the 1850s to the autonomous container ships of the modern era. Note that TS Queen Mary is a preorder bonus rather than a standard unlock, so plan accordingly if you missed the preorder window.

Ship Categories Explained

Rather than memorizing 25 names, it helps to think of the Transport Fever 3 ships list in functional groups:

Category	Ships	Best Use
Fishing/cargo small	Canadian trawler, Tora coaster	Early industry supply lines
Cargo large	Dunara Castle, Terra Nova, Whopper, Yara Birkeland	Long-haul bulk freight
Liquid cargo	Damen Tanker 800, Votrans Towboat Tanker	Oil and fuel delivery
Passenger ferries	Hadag Type 2000, Meridian Ferry, Damen Fast Ferry	Town-to-town commuter links
Historic passenger	PS Trillium, Sternwheeler, Waimarie, MS Diamant	Era-appropriate early routes
Utility	Hercules XI, Virgo, Votrans Towboat Cargo	Harbor support and barge work
Special	AP1-88 hovercraft, Solar shuttle, TS Queen Mary	Niche and bonus routes

Why Ships Matter in Transport Fever 3

Transport Fever 3's reworked industry and cargo system — showcased by Urban Games in their Gamescom 2025 First Look series — makes supply chains more interconnected than in Transport Fever 2. Ports are no longer decorative: they're genuine cargo hubs that can anchor entire industry chains.

Consider what community gameplay footage has already demonstrated. In one early-game launch series, a player connected a fishing line to a coastal town's port, only to discover the delivery distance was too great for road vehicles. Ships solved a problem that horse carts simply couldn't — and when the fish supply started to dwindle, adding more trawlers to the line restored the town's happiness and generated subsidiary income of over 5.8 million in-game currency.

Water routes also offer advantages rails can't match:

No track construction costs. Rivers, lakes, and coastlines are free right-of-way.
High capacity per vehicle. A single large cargo ship can replace dozens of trucks.
Natural connections. Islands and towns split by water often require maritime links.

When to Use Ships Instead of Trains or Trucks

Choosing the right mode is the core skill of the game. Here's a practical decision framework based on player experience so far:

Situation	Recommended Mode	Why
Towns on opposite shores of a bay	Ferry	Road and rail would require expensive bridges
Fish from a distant fishing ground	Trawler	Only ships reach offshore stocks
Oil well across a lake	Tanker ship	Cheaper than routing roads around the water
Bulk cargo halfway across the map	Train	Trains beat ships for speed and frequency on inland routes
Short intra-city delivery	Trucks/trams	Ships are overkill for short hops
Island supply chains	Mixed ship + rail	Ships cross the water, rail distributes inland

A good rule of thumb from community reports: if the route is mostly over open water, ships win on cost. If it's mostly over land, trains win on throughput. The most profitable empires combine both, using ports as transfer points.

Early-Game Ship Strategy Tips

Ships can feel slow to pay off, but these tactics — drawn from launch-week gameplay and community discussion — will get your maritime lines profitable faster.

1. Start with fishing lines

The Canadian trawler is one of the cheapest early cargo vehicles in the game. Coastal towns want fish from the very first year, and a single trawler on a short line can fund expansion. If deliveries show as delayed, add a second trawler — under-capacity lines are the most common early mistake.

2. Watch line profitability before scaling

Payment only arrives when a vehicle completes a delivery, not on a constant tick. A common community tactic: once vehicles on a line reach roughly the halfway point, duplicate the line to send a second wave. This staggers arrivals and keeps income flowing consistently rather than in bursts.

3. Use alternate loading bays

Many ports and industry stops have multiple platforms. Marking secondary bays as alternates prevents backups when one berth is occupied — a small UI feature with an outsized impact on line efficiency.

4. Don't buy the biggest ship first

Large vessels like the Dunara Castle are tempting, but their cost can cripple an early economy. Match ship size to actual demand; upgrade as the industry chain matures.

5. Mind the era

Like the rest of the Transport Fever 3 vehicles roster, ships unlock by year. Paddle steamers and trawlers dominate the 1850–1920 window; ferries, coasters, and tankers fill the mid-century; hovercraft, solar shuttles, and the Yara Birkeland appear in the modern era. Planning your port infrastructure around upcoming unlocks saves expensive rebuilds later.

How the Ships List Compares to Transport Fever 2

Veterans will notice meaningful changes. The Transport Fever 3 ships list leans harder into functional variety — dedicated towboats, multiple tanker configurations, and modern autonomous vessels simply didn't exist in the previous game. The reworked cargo mechanics also give ships clearer roles within multi-stage industry chains, rather than serving as simple point-to-point haulers.

For official details on the game's industry and cargo systems, check out the Urban Games official website, where the developer publishes First Look videos and patch information.

FAQ

How many ships are in Transport Fever 3?

Based on the art book and community-compiled lists, 25 ships are confirmed at launch, including one preorder-exclusive vessel (TS Queen Mary). Expect the total to grow with free updates and DLC, as happened with Transport Fever 2.

What's the best early-game ship?

Player experience strongly favors the Canadian trawler. It's affordable, unlocks early, and fishing lines are among the most reliable early income sources — especially for towns that can't be reached efficiently by road.

Are ships profitable in Transport Fever 3?

Yes, but they reward patience. Ships are slower than trains, so lines take longer to pay back their purchase cost. They shine on routes that would require expensive bridges, on offshore fishing grounds, and as the cargo leg of longer multi-modal supply chains.

Does the Transport Fever 3 ships list include tankers?

It does. The Damen Tanker 800 and the Votrans Towboat Tanker both handle liquid cargo, making them essential for oil and fuel supply chains once refineries come online in your game.

Water transport rewards players who plan ahead. Pick your first trawler, stagger your deliveries, and let the tide carry your empire to its first million.