Company types

Added or changed on 15 October 2026

• Every new company starts as one of six company types (a seventh, Research, can only be taken at a pick: see Research), chosen first thing on the New Company screen: Cargo & Ore (container ships, ore carriers and breakbulk carriers, and its mines, plants and factories: see Cargo & Ore industry), Vehicles (car carriers and boat carriers, and the makers: see Vehicle makers and factories), Agriculture (grain, livestock and Fresh produce carriers, and farms: see Farms; the Shop tab once called Food), Tankers (tankers and gas carriers, and rigs and refineries: see Oil and gas), Seafood (fishing boats, crabbing boats and seafood carriers) and Cruises (Ocean and Expedition cruisers: see Cruise lines). Each line has five tiers (see Ship models).
• Its type's ships unlock fast: tier 1 at level 1, tier 2 at 4, tier 3 at 9, tier 4 at 16, tier 5 at 25 (every line of the type together: a Cargo & Ore company gets the Scooter 20 and Mini Bulker at 1, the Feeder 100 and Laker at 4...). Slots grow from each model's unlock level as before.
• At company level 15, and every 15 levels after (30, 45, 60, 75), it branches out into one more type of the player's choice, for good: a Choose a company type button at the top right of the World map (above Unlock a region), a Choose button on the Shop's locked tabs, the level-up card ("a new company type to choose"), the Shop button's red dot and a tutorial tip all point to it. The choice shows the six types as cards, the types it has greyed; Choose, then Confirm. A type taken at level L unlocks its tiers at L, L + 3, L + 8, L + 15 and L + 24 (its first ships straight away). Level 90 gives a hub only. By level 75 a company has all six.
• Ships outside the types (recovery boats, tugs, icebreakers) unlock at their own levels for every company.
• Company level costs follow the company: each level costs the same minutes of a full fleet's XP as before, but the full fleet is the one its types give it, so a company with fewer lines levels as fast as one with every line. Fishing and crabbing boats count by a typical trip's catch. About 74,000-144,000 XP to level 15 by type (80,000 before types).
• Each type is shown as an icon with its name: beside each saved game on the title screen, in the Type column of Finances → Compare companies (every type the company has, and the level it took each at, on hover), on the Shop's tab banners and the type cards.
• Recommended headquarters follow the type: each port is ranked by how much its type's first ships could earn from it with only its home market region open (the best loop for cargo ships, the catch in season for fishing and crabbing boats, the best cruise for cruise ships), and ports a season closes are never better than hard starts. The New Company map and its notes, the join page and AI rivals' headquarters all follow the chosen type. The Great Lakes ports are offered to every type.
• The tutorial follows the type: Mo B. Dick's welcome says what the company does, Sonny names its first ships, a Seafood start's first boat counts (it needs no route), the fishing tip only shows to a company with Seafood, the levels tip mentions the type picks, and a "Time to branch out" tip comes with each pick.
• The Fresh produce carriers are left out of every company's level costs (Progression), so adding Agriculture's third line moved no company's level.