Ship was a word which could refer to a boat (PROSE: No Room [+]Rebecca Levene, Short Trips: Christmas Around the World (Short Trips short stories, 2008).) or a spacecraft.
The First Doctor described the TARDIS as a ship and would refer to it as "the ship". (TV: An Unearthly Child [+]Anthony Coburn, adapted from The Pilot Episode (Anthony Coburn), Doctor Who season 1 (BBC tv, 1963).) Meeting the First Doctor just prior to his regeneration, the Twelfth Doctor was amused to hear him still referring to the TARDIS as such. (TV: Twice Upon a Time [+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2017 (BBC One, 2017).)