Trust me, I've done the maths, the science and the geography and can confirm they are just boats seen through an anime market exploitation lens. If we switched to the Pixar lens the show would just look like a Cars spinoff with boats that talk. They are mechanical. So raise up your anchor and stop considering docking with them.
Of course melting them down for parts would still be horrific as seen in that Brave Little Toaster car crushing song. They may be mechanical, but they are concious.
