9 and one third of the creatures which were in the sea died, those who had life. One third of the ships were destroyed.
a third of the creatures – the meaning of “a third” is described above.
and the ships – in Rev 18, we see the same metaphor of “ships.” Baptism into the true Church is described as “an ark” of salvation in 2 Pet 2:5, and 1 Pet 3:20. False churches are described in Rev 18, as ships that are “full of human lives” (Rev 18:13), run by merchants of the gospel (Rev 18:15; 2 Cor 2:17). These merchants “make their living by the sea” (Rev 18:17), by selling “salvation.”