and sails so they could all be used at once. The wide application of Chinese watertight compartments soon spread across East Asia and later to the Europeans through contacts with Indian and Arab merchants.

Watertight compartments were frequently implemented in East Asian ships, and had been implemented in the Mongolian Yuan dynasty maritime warships of Kublai Khan. Chinese seagoing junks often had 14 crosswalls, some of which could be flooded to increase stability