110+ Traditional Ship Tattoos Designs (2024) Pirate, Sailing, Sunken, Ghost

Navy related tattoos are evergreen. This is the reason why ship tattoos are so popular among men and women. People who are in navy often tattoo themselves with designs of ship or compass or something related. Even girls who have their husband or boyfriend in navy opt for ship tattoos. Many people also admire pirate ship tattoos over navy ship tattoos. Here we have selected 110 incredible ship tattoos for men and women-

sunken ship tattoo

ghost ship tattoo

1. A pirate ship tattoo design will look even better with a full moon in the background. Do not opt for a sun tattoo in background.

ship in a bottle tattoo

ship in a bottle tattoos

sailing boat tattoos

vessel tattoo

small ship tattoo

2. Pirate ship tattoos are more popular than navy ship tattoos so if you opt for them then better add a skull design to it.

3. Usually, people opt for colorful ship tattoos but a black and grey ship tattoo look equally amazing. Just look at this majestic ship tattoo on the shoulder of this boy.

4. Ship tattoos look good on chest or back but if you wish to have one on your forearm then make the shaft of the tattoo longer than usual.

5. Another popular style of ship tattoos is to have it inside a circular figure. It will be meaningful as it will represent the globe.

6. There is a saying that the number of sails a ship has the faster It is. You can show dozen of sails in your ship tattoo design like this.

7. The heart lock design in this ship tattoo is meaningful as it suggests that the person is in love and tied with sailing.

8. This ship tattoo design is inspired from the kaleidoscope view of ships. You can see the symmetry of the ship from various angels.

9. You can use sky blue watercolour or ink to give the impression of clear sky in your ship tattoo design just like this.

10. Here is a pastel ship tattoo design which is good for those who are looking for temporary ship tattoos. But please keep in mind that it will fade away within a week. You can learn about different type of ships to take a good decision about your design.

11. If your ship tattoo design starts fading away then you can restyle it by giving vibrant watercolour tattoo design in the background just as shown in this picture.

12. Pirate Ship tattoos on the chest are not easy to ink. One incredible idea for this would be to show a ship facing a sea storm on a dark night.

13. The artist cleverly inked a medium size ship tattoo on the hand of this guy and also showed lightning and clouds in it. This is a traditional ship tattoo design.

14. Another popular quote among sailors is that ‘Calm Seas Never Make the Best Sailor’. You can get it tattooed with your ship tattoo.

15. Even though I admire ship tattoos with waves but few artists prefer to add flowers instead of waves and such tattoos have their own unique look.

16. Brothers often join the army. If you have a brother or a good friend in the army then you can have a matching ship tattoo with him.

17. Ship full sleeve tattoos do not look good but a half sleeve ship tattoo design would look majestic. Just look at this half sleeve ship tattoo on the forearm of this man.

18. If you opt for a unique ship tattoo design like this ship in the bottle tattoo then please don’t have it on the thigh at least. Such designs suit the upper part of the body such as the chest or back.

19. Even though I admire detailed ship tattoos more but it doesn’t mean that you cannot give a try to minimal ship tattoos like this.

20. This ship tattoo design can be improved by expanding it and showing few clouds hovering over it.

21. Here is a meaningful ship tattoo where the artist showed a sailing ship inside the anatomical heart tattoo. It shows that the person loves sailing around the world.

22. You can add even more beauty to your ship tattoo by showing a beautiful landscape such as forests or mountains in the background.

23. Minimal ship tattoo design may not leave a good impression as the large size ship tattoos but they are a good option if you have to follow certain rules for your job.

24. The artist showed ship inside a standing bottle which is not common. It will represent that you are locked with your own desires and wish to come out of it.

25. This interesting ship tattoo design seems to be inspired by the famous Disney movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. It is inspired by the scene where the huge Kraken took away Captain Jack Sparrow and his ship Black Pearl into the depth of the ocean.

26. A ship tattoo done using the blackwork tattoo art will look great in the beginning but when it starts fading away it will lose its look. Just look at this fading neo-tribal ship tattoo.

27. This ship tattoo design on the calf of this guy is beautifully inked as the artist used the negative colors to show a ship sailing with a full white moon in the background.

28. Girls too can opt for ship tattoos especially if their boyfriend or husband or even brother is in navy. You can use pink ink to give it a feminine look.

29. Even though the watercolor tattoo design in the background is leaking away yet I liked this particular ship tattoo because of the impressive use of black and grey ink.

30. It would be really painful and time-consuming to show lines in the sails of your ship tattoo but if you want something unique in your tattoo then go for it.

31. You can show an octopus or a kraken or even loch ness monster in your ship tattoo design to make it look even more impressive.

32. Here is another traditional ship tattoo design on the rib cage of this guy. If you want to show the sun in the background then use orange or red ink.

33. Pirate ship tattoos can be distinguished from normal ship tattoos due to the use of skull tattoo in it. You can add the skull tattoo either on the mast of the ship or just below the whole tattoo like this.

34. People rarely show flying birds in their ship tattoo design but I would advise you to show them if you wish to show a ship sailing in the calm sea.

35. Ship in the bottle is another variation of ship tattoos and you can make it unique by showing clouds and sun/moon inside bottle.

36. Couples too can have matching ship tattoos. A heart touching idea would be to have a ship tattoo and name the ship in the name of your beloved partner.

37. Ship tattoos can be used as a cover up tattoos too but for this, you have to opt for realistic ship tattoos and if the area to be covered up is large then add a sea monster to your design too.

38. The artist beautiful used the space on the chest to ink a traditional ship tattoo but I do not understand the reason of shaking hand tattoo just below it.

39. You can make your ship tattoo even more attractive by adding an island in it. Like here is the view of a ship as seen from an island.

40. I do not understand the meaning of the Latin words or Latin quotes added in the pirate ship tattoo but one idea that I would suggest you is to get tattooed with the name of the cities or countries that you visited while sailing.

41. You do not need to shave up in a ship tattoo design. The small hairs can be used to show a sea storm in the ship tattoo.

42. You can modify a dreamcatcher tattoo design to show a ship tattoo in its net. It would be a good idea if you believe in the good luck of Dreamcatcher tattoo.

43. This traditional ship tattoo design on the thigh of this woman is wrongly aligned but otherwise it is a cool tattoo.

44. Small size ship tattoos does not turn out as good as large ship tattoos so think before taking the final decision.

45. Instead of opting for a large ship tattoo you can also go for a boat tattoo design. Here is a good example of it.

46. Tiny or small ship tattoos will suit those who cannot have large tattoos due to the policies or regulations of their employer.

47. Do not forget to add a black pirate flag and a large net in your pirate ship tattoo design because it will make the tattoo more meaningful.

48. Traditional ship tattoos are made using black red and yellow color combinations but you can also try them with skyblue, purple and black color combination like this.

49. If you opt for a ship tattoo design on parts like wrist or hand or palm then you can try such designs where only a certain part of the ship is shown.

50. There are many famous paintings, drawings, and sketches of ships from history. You can get them tattooed too. You can find them on sites like tumble, Pinterest or DeviantArt.