As for ships, the devs are planning to move away from releasing ship parts to releasing complete ships instead, each with their own specialized roles. All of these ships will cost gold and will be primitive class and up, while ramshackle ships will be available at Freeports. And speaking of sea content, the post admits that the game needs more reasons for players to be out on the ocean and make ship-to-ship combat more fun.
Content retrieved from: https://massivelyop.com/2020/11/26/atlas-answers-community-questions-about-future-plans-for-trade-ships-sea-content-and-the-claim-system/.