Merchant Marine

Six or eight men, therefore, by the help of water-carriage, can carry and bring back, in the same time, the same quantity of goods between London and Edinburgh as fifty broad-wheeled waggons, attended by a hundred men, and drawn by four hundred horses.
—Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Cap III)
==In game==
Merchant Marine — Vital statistics	Merchant Marine — Vital statistics	Merchant Marine — Vital statistics	Merchant Marine — Vital statistics	Merchant Marine — Vital statistics	Merchant Marine — Vital statistics	Merchant Marine — Vital statistics	Merchant Marine — Vital statistics	Merchant Marine — Vital statistics
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*Powerful heavy ship with increased rate of fire, built to attain maritime surface superiority.	
*Powerful heavy ship with increased rate of fire, built to attain maritime surface superiority.	
*Powerful heavy ship with increased rate of fire, built to attain maritime surface superiority.	
*Powerful heavy ship with increased rate of fire, built to attain maritime surface superiority.	
*Powerful heavy ship with increased rate of fire, built to attain maritime surface superiority.	
*Powerful heavy ship with increased rate of fire, built to attain maritime surface superiority.	
*Powerful heavy ship with increased rate of fire, built to attain maritime surface superiority.	
*Powerful heavy ship with increased rate of fire, built to attain maritime surface superiority.
Prereq: 	Build time 	HP 	LOS 	Attack 	Attack speed 	Movementspeed 	 	
* 	18s 	675 	30 	70 	Rather slow 	44 	 	
Cost 	Cost 	Cost 	Created from 	Armour 	Weapon range 	Specialty 	 	
Base 	Ramp 	Pop 	Created from 	Armour 	Weapon range 	Specialty 	 	
: 250;: 160 	: 6;: 3 	2 	 	9 	33 	? 	 	
===Overall strategy===
The Merchant Marine is an upgrade of the Trade Galliot , and is a considerably faster and more mobile unit in the water, capable of transporting goods faster than ever before. They are still somewhat vulnerable, especially to Steam Corvettes and the all-new Toro-class submarine, so you had best be careful when navigating warzones populated by the new mehchanised units of the Mechanical Age.
====Notes====
These units are invariably Clippers, but once Mechanisation is achieved, they instantly convert into tramp steamers, basically a dirty-looking wooden boat.