Question

Choose the most suitable option
A ___________ of ships.
a) Crew
b) Fleet
c) Tribe
d) Shoal

Answer 1

Hint:Collective nouns are used to describe a group of things, person and animals. Some collective nouns are bunch, herd, army, family, audience and many more.
Here, the sentence refers to a collection of ships. So the options contain a word that describes a group of ships being referred to as a single entity

Complete answer:
Considering the options that we have in hand,
Crew: This word is used to describe a group of people who coordinate and work together, for instance, in a ship or airplane.
Eg: It took the whole crew to calm the passengers down amidst the turbulence.

Fleet: This word is used to describe a group of ships, trucks and airplanes; they are often used to refer to an organization of naval vessels or warships.
Eg: The Indian Navy fleet takes pride in being one of the most efficient fleets in the world in addition to being one of the largest.

Tribe: A group of people with a common ancestor is referred to as a tribe.
Eg: There are many tribes living in proximity to the Amazon forest.

Shoal: it is not a collective noun. It is used to describe a region of water which doesn’t have much depth; it can also refer to things that are shallow.
Eg: The shoal near the Kollam coast is very colourful with the propagation of coral reefs.

Hence, Option b, fleet is the answer which is apt for the sentence given.

Note:
“Crew” is not to be confused with “fleet”. A crew is referred to the group of people working on the ship in coordination. A group of ships can be called fleet or armada. It is used for a single entity which includes a bunch of things, people or animals, here, ships.