Pirate Ship (obstacle)

Pirate Ships (or pirate ships) are a recurring enemy boat in the The Legend of Zelda series, armed with a large cannon that can shoot bombs. Attacking with ones' own cannon repeatedly will eventually sink them, but they are quite sturdy. They attempt to get close enough to the player's vehicle for the crew to board it.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
In The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Pirate Ships are found in the Northwestern Sea, the Southeastern Sea, and the Northeastern Sea, where they are always accompanied by two Cannon Boats. They are larger, faster, and even more durable than the Cannon Boats, but upon being sunk, will always leave behind a chest for the Salvage Arm, similar to the Warships in The Wind Waker. They take ten hits from the cannon to sink. If one gets too close to the SS Linebeck for too long, however, the Umi Blins inside will board it and need to be fended off. While not required to occur to complete the game, it needs to happen to obtain all Courage Gems, as Linebeck rewards Link with one for fending the Umi Blins off the first time.

Additionally, Jolene has her own unique ship, which looks quite different from the ones manned by Umi Blins, fires torpedos instead of bombs, is even faster, and cannot be sunk, only evaded.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
In The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, pirate ships are now manned by Miniblins and Big Blins and are unique to the Ocean Realm, with other realms having Pirate Tanks instead. They now only take about five hit to sink and only appear when the Spirit Train is carrying a passenger. The first encounter with one, when the train is carrying Carben, is unavoidable as it will move too fast to avoid being boarded. Failing to protect him results in a Game Over.

They do not appear again until the prisoner at the Pirate Hideout is saved. Being boarded on these encounters can be avoided as the ships can be sunk, though if the train is boarded, Link will need to go through the encounter again. I If Link fails to fend off the attackers this time, the passenger will simply be taken hostage to the hideout and need to be rescued. Additionally, a pirate ship can be seen docked at the hideout.

When pirate ships appear, they are accompanied by the same music that previously signified Jolene's ship. In most cases, this is only the chorus, though the introduction also occurs in the first encounter.