Before you get totally annoyed with The Ship “Server Not Responding” error, you need to know how to fix it to continue playing the game.
If this error spoils your game, our programmers will share six effective fixes to resolve this bug. So, make sure to check this out!
Fix #1: Try Using Another Connection
Your network connection might cause the error. You can try to connect to other networks to test the issue.
Fix #2: Disable Firewall and Antivirus for The Ship
If there’s no problem with your network connection, we suggest checking the settings of your Windows Firewall and/or Antivirus program. You can try disabling these security protections first to see if it causes the issue.

Fix #3: Allow Friends to Join Thru External IP
The next resolution is allowing your friends to join thru your external IP. The Ship doesn’t support connecting to a particular server thru local IP. You can try this method and see how The Ship behaves after.
Fix #4: Add Server to Your Favorites List and Add the IP
Another method to fix the error is to add the server to your “Favorite List” and your IP.
- Open your Steam and select ‘View.”
- Click “Servers,” then go to “Favorites.”
- Press the “Add Server To Favorites” option.
- Then, copy and paste the server IP and port (IP:PORT format).
Fix #5: Port Forwarding
If The Ship server is still not responding, try forwarding ports. But, make sure you’re using the right local IP for the forwarded ports.

For example, instead of using “192.168.0.X,” where X is 1 or 0, search for the last number for your computer in “win+r>cmd>ipconfig.”
Fix #6: Access Behind NAT File
Lastly, you can fix the issue by accessing behind the NAT [1] File. To connect to the server, do the following:
- On the server, set the router’s port range and public IP address. The base port is 20111, and the range is 20111-202.10.
- On the router, forward the ports for the Server and the NativeBL 20109 ports.
- Launch The Ship, and in the connection settings, provide your router’s external IP and the external base ports of the server.
Conclusion
There you have it! The six ways to fix The Ship “Server Not Responding” error. You won’t have to worry if you and your friends can’t connect with each other to play the game. Hopefully, this guide helped you a lot. Enjoy!