ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Merchant ship

A merchant ship is a big boat that is used for things like moving goods and products from one place to another. It's like a big truck, except it goes on water.

When people make things like clothes or toys or food, they need to sell them to other people who want to buy them. But sometimes the people who want to buy these things live far away, across the ocean, for example. That's where merchant ships come in - they take the things that people want to buy, put them on the ship, and sail them across the ocean to where they need to go.

The ships have lots of different parts, like a big engine that makes it go, and big rooms where they can store all the stuff that people want to buy. They also have a place where the people who work on the ship can sleep and eat, just like you have your own bed and kitchen at home.

Being on a merchant ship can be really hard work, but when it gets to where it is going, it can make a lot of people happy by giving them the things they want to buy.