In Hamburg and Antwerp you can purchase the best battle ship in the game, when arranged correctly it can travel the most days at sea also. Invest 50,000 gold into the shipyards at Antwerp and Hamburg from 3-5 months. After 3-5 months then go to the shipyard and go to buy new ship, on the second page of ships you will find the Frigate and the Full-rig ship. If you invest in both at one time then you can build two at a time. They are better than the Barge in battle and at sea. But the best trade ship is the Tekkhouson, after investing the same amount the same amount of times in Sakia then you can purchase a Tekkhouson. It is the best trade ship. Arrange it at first then sail back to Europe. It is the quickest ship and it can hold the second or third most cargo in the whole game.