Rust Cargo Ship
A scientist-crewed freighter that sails the map perimeter carrying Locked Crates. It runs on its own schedule, anyone can board it, and the crates are the whole reason to.
You can't sink it — and that's in the game files
The Cargo Ship prefab carries no health value at all— it isn't built as a destructible entity, so no amount of rockets does anything to the hull. Every fight on the ship is over the deck and the crates, never the vessel.
Checked against the game's own entity manifest on build 2632.287.1, 2026-08-20.
The crates
The ship carries Locked Crates — the same container the Chinook parachutes onto monuments, and the richest in the game. Each one runs a 15-minute hack before it opens, loudly enough that starting one announces you to everybody aboard.
Every item and its real chance, straight from the drop tables, is on the Locked Crate page. It isn't repeated here — one table, one page.
Related events
- Chinook (CH47) — delivers the same crate to a monument instead.
- Bradley APC — the Launch Site equivalent, and destructible, unlike this.
- All Rust events — seasonal and recurring, in one place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you sink the Cargo Ship?expand_more
No. The ship isn't a combat entity — it carries no health value in the game files at all, so there's nothing to destroy. The fight is for the crates on deck, not the vessel.
What's actually worth taking?expand_more
Locked Crates, the same ones the Chinook delivers — 154 possible drops, and the best crate in the game once it's open.
Why does it take so long to open a crate?expand_more
Each Locked Crate runs a 15-minute hack before it unlocks, and the timer is audible and visible to anyone nearby. Starting one is a commitment to holding the deck.
Related guides
A Rust monument tier list ranked from beginner-safe to end-game: radiation levels, keycard puzzles, recyclers, and the gear you need for each.
A wipe-day-to-endgame Rust progression roadmap: scrap first, WB1 to WB3, first gun to AK, then C4 raids. Do it in this order.
The best Rust scrap farming sources ranked: recycling, road barrels, monument crates, diving crates, cargo and oil rig. Plus a fastest-scrap early routine.