{{Short description|Ship propelled by an internal combustion engine}} {{Redirect-multi|2|Motorship|Motorships|other uses|Motorship (disambiguation)}} {{Redirect|M/V|video music|music video|other uses|MV (disambiguation)}} {{Distinguish|Motorboat}} [[File:MV American Tern (T-AK-4729) 200601.jpg|thumb|The supply ship {{MV|American Tern|T-AK-4729|6}} during cargo operations at McMurdo Station in Antarctica in 2007]] A '''motor ship''' or '''motor vessel''' is a ship that is propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with '''MS''', '''M/S''', '''MV'''<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/docs/press/FS-24.mrc.pdf |title=Mississippi River Commission |date=11 January 2008 |work=Corps Facts |publisher=United States Army Corps of Engineers |access-date=10 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070726123105/http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/docs/press/FS-24.mrc.pdf |archive-date=26 July 2007}}</ref> or '''M/V'''.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/print/default.asp?pageid=1444&subpageid=0 |title=Open house of largest working towboat on the Mississippi rescheduled to Saturday, Aug. 9 |date=7 September 2008 |publisher=United States Army Corps of Engineers |access-date=10 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090109075610/http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/print/default.asp?pageid=1444&subpageid=0 |archive-date=9 January 2009}}</ref>
Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by the early 20th century, motorships began to cross the waters.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.motorship.com/news101/industry-news/trials-and-tribulations-of-the-marine-diesel-a-look-back-at-the-history-of-diesel-ships|title=Trials and tribulations of the marine diesel -A look back at the history of diesel ships |publisher=The Motorship |language=en |date=1 November 2003 |access-date=15 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.motorship.com/news101/comment-and-analysis/100-years-of-motor-ships |title=100 years of motor ships |language=en |date=1 February 2012 |access-date=15 January 2017}}</ref>
==History== The first diesel-powered motorships were launched in 1903: the Russian {{ship||Vandal|tanker|2}} (the first equipped with diesel-electric transmission) and French ''Petite-Pierre''. There is disagreement over which of the two was the first.
Although merchant, commercial and private vessels have been inconsistently designated, the general official practice in the British Realm and former British colonies (whether today part of the Commonwealth or not) has been to designate the very largest (ocean going) vessels as "ships", the very smallest as "boats", and those intermediate steamers and other types too large to be considered boats and too small to be seen as ships, as "vessels". This is particularly true with naval vessels, where those large enough to be rated ''ships'' (the Royal Navy designation for a commissioned ship, regardless of propulsion, being "''HMS''" for "His/Her Majesty's Ship") are generally under the command of a ranked Captain (for a destroyer or above), or a Commander, while the smallest warships and intermediate vessels (such as trawlers and drifters) and large "boats" (such as Motor Torpedo Boats prefixed ''MTB'' and Motor Gun Boats prefixed ''MGB''), and smaller launches (such as the Harbour Defence Motor Launch prefixed ''HDML'', and ''Motor Launches'' like the Fairmile Type B prefixed ''ML'') might be commanded by a Commander, Lieutenant-Commander, Lieutenant, or Skipper (still smaller boats, such as the Harbour Launch, prefixed ''HL'', might be commanded by a Warrant Officer, Petty Officer, or a senior rating). Although intermediate commercial and research vessels are generally prefixed MV (with internal combustion motors), RV (such as the ''FRV Scotia'' of the Fisheries Research Services), or similar, the Royal Navy has generally avoided using the word ''vessel'' (rare examples being ''Steam Tank Vessels'' and ''Water Tank Vessels''), instead prefixing such vessels based on the application they were designed for (not necessarily the application the Royal Navy used them for), such as Admiralty Trawlers, prefixed ''HMT'' ("His Majesty's Trawler"), Admiralty Drifters, and Admiralty tugs, all often designated as Auxiliary Craft.
==See also== [[File:Круизные корабли на Волге.jpg|thumb|Cruise ships on the Volga River, Russia]] * Gas turbine ship (GTS) – prefix for a jet-engine/turbine-propelled ship * Steamship (SS) – a steamship is a ship propelled by a steam engine or steam turbine. The name of steam ships are often prefixed with '''SS''' or '''S/S''' * Royal Mail Ship (RMS) – Royal Mail Ship
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Wiktionary}} {{Commons category|Motor-powered ships}}
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Category:Ship types