Large merchant ships would approach the destination port and, just like today, be intercepted by a number of towboats that would drag them to the quay. Goods from all over the world would come to the city through the port of Pozzuoli situated west of the bay of Naples in Italy and through the gigantic port of Ostia situated at the mouth of the Tiber River. During the Empire, Rome was a huge city by ancient standards of about one million inhabitants. iron bars, copper, marble and granite), and agricultural products (e.g. The cargo on merchant ships included raw materials (e.g. In order to assist them, music would be played on an instrument, and oars would then keep time with this. Just like warships, merchant ships used oarsmen, but coordinating the hundreds of rowers in both types of ship was not an easy task. They had from one to three masts with large square sails and a small triangular sail at the bow. They usually had two huge side rudders located off the stern and controlled by a small tiller bar connected to a system of cables.

Unlike warships, their V-shaped hull was deep underwater, meaning that they could not sail too close to the coast. They had a wider hull, double planking and a solid interior for added stability.

Merchant ships were built to transport lots of cargo over long distances and at a reasonable cost. The trireme was superseded by larger ships with even more rowers. It is worth noting that contrary to popular perception, rowers were not slaves but mostly Roman citizens enrolled in the military. The rowers at the bottom had the most uncomfortable position as they were under the other rowers and were exposed to the water entering through the oar-holes. It had rowers in the top, middle and lower levels, and approximately 50 rowers in each bank. The 'trireme' was the dominant warship from the 7th to 4th century BCE. Eventually, Rome's navy became the largest and most powerful in the Mediterranean, and the Romans had control over what they therefore called Mare Nostrum meaning 'our sea'. Warships used both wind (sails) and human power (oarsmen) and were therefore very fast. They had a bronze battering ram, which was used to pierce the timber hulls or break the oars of enemy vessels. They did not sink when damaged and often would lie crippled on the sea's surface following naval battles.

They had to be able to sail near the coast, which is why they had no ballast or excess load and were built with a long, narrow hull. Warships were built to be lightweight and very speedy. The ancient Romans built large merchant ships and warships whose size and technology were unequalled until the 16th century CE. This method was more systematic and dramatically shortened ship construction times. Then in the first centuries of the current era, Mediterranean shipbuilders shifted to another shipbuilding method, still in use today, which consisted of building the frame first and then proceeding with the hull and the other components of the ship. Starting from the 6th century BCE, they were fixed using a method called mortise and tenon, whereby one plank locked into another without the need for stitching. Planks used to build the outer hull were initially sewn together. Studies of these have taught us that ancient Roman shipbuilders built the outer hull first, then proceeded with the frame and the rest of the ship. Excavated vessels also provide some clues about ancient shipbuilding techniques. There are a few surviving written documents that give descriptions and representations of ancient Roman ships, including the sails and rigging. The Romans were not traditionally sailors but mostly land based people, who learned to build ships from the people that they conquered, namely the Greeks and the Egyptians. Shipbuilding in ancient Rome, however, was more of an art relying on estimation, inherited techniques and personal experience. Shipbuilding today is based on science and ships are built using computers and sophisticated tools.

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