Short answers, pulled from the story.
Model ships appeared in Egypt during the 4th millennium BC, representing the earliest historical evidence of watercraft. These artifacts predate written records by centuries and prove that early societies mastered floating platforms long before they could write their names.
The wooden vessel known as the Khufu ship lay entombed at the foot of the Great Pyramid around 2500 BC until its discovery in 1954. This intact example demonstrated how perfectly at ease ancient builders were with constructing large sailing vessels.
Austronesian peoples originated in what is now Taiwan and took part in a massive expansion across half the globe starting some time before 2000 BC. They used distinctive technology including catamarans, outriggers, and crab claw sails to sail for vast distances in open ocean.
The transition from clinker to carvel construction facilitated artillery use at sea since internal framing could accommodate gun weight making it easier to fit gunports in carvel hulls. This hybridization provided most ships used in the Age of Discovery able to carry sufficient stores for long voyages with rig suited to open ocean.
The Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground dumping oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound March 1989 killing over 400,000 seabirds about 1,000 sea otters and immense numbers fish despite scientist manager volunteer efforts.