Okay, this informational itch I've got is a bit complex and open-ended, so bear with me!

As is common knowledge, it's traditional among English-speaking seafarers refer to ships as female. For example, in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, you'll hear things like... "The Surprise is not old; no one would call her old. She has a bluff bow, lovely lines. She's a fine seabird: weatherly, stiff and fast... very fast, if she's well handled. No, she's not old; she's in her prime."

I've heard tell that this isn't the case for every culture, though: for example, that in Poland, ships are considered male. Trying to find out more about this particular topic has been an amazing headache. Especially in the case of languages with grammatical gender!

So that's the core of my question: How would a seafarer refer to a ship, depending on the time period and language they spoke? For example, was there a difference in how an Old English, Old Scots, or Middle English-speaking sailor would refer to a ship compared to Modern English sailors? How would this differ from French, Danish, Russian, or Chinese sailors? What about sailors from Archaic/Ancient Greece, or the Roman Republic/Empire?

The reason I've asked here and not in a language forum is due to both the historical angle (how were things done in earlier cultures and languages, and what evidence do we have for it?) as well as the fact that this is fairly niche information that I wouldn't expect an average native speaker (or even a linguist) to know.

Thank you in advance!