Platypus

The Platypus is a break bulk cargo ship featured in Grand Theft Auto IV.

Description
The vessel is a medium sized general break bulk ship with no markings indicating a draft. The hull is painted black and red, the superstructure is white and the decks are green. The livery on the exhaust stack consists of marine blue stripes with a white central band highlighted by narrower marine blue pinstripes top and bottom. There is a nameplate on the railings on the top level of the superstructure on the port side and the name is also painted on both sides of the bow and on the stern where it is accompanied by the port of registration, Liberty City. Most of the direction signage and safety equipment aboard is in Russian which may indicate the origin of the vessel.

There are 24 rows of cargo access ports amidships with the 12 closest to the bridge split down the center and the 12 forward ports being continuous. There are various cranes and masts on the fore-deck for cargo management.

The superstructure rises 4 levels above the deck, with the first level housing the galley and mess, the second level housing crew quarters and the top level housing the bridge, The third level is inaccessible. There is a radio mast and radar mast atop the superstructure and a further radio mast at the bow. There are exterior stairways leading down from the bridge to the third level on the starboard side and down to the second level on the port side, but no exterior stairway leads down to the main deck.

There are two six-man permanent lifeboats, one on either side of the superstructure, and two further life raft containers at the stern.

The door from the deck to the mess is open during a story mission and in the multiplayer free mode to allow access to the interior. Internal access down to part of the ships hold can be reached from the mess at these times, while two of the cargo access ports in row 12 which are opened by Niko during the mission are also open. Outside of the mission or multiplayer modes, parts of the interior can be freely accessed if the player flies a helicopter near the superstructure and bails out onto the upper balcony, where the doors are open and the player can then explore but will they not be able to access the hold.

Inside, on the bridge, there is a copy of a real shipping navigation chart for Salem, Marblehead and Beverly Harbors and a Body Armor pickup. There are Russian language posters on the walls of the ship for Perestroika, Honkers Gentlemen's Club, a Liberty City Amateur Dramatic Society play called TittyCity T&A, numerous soft-core pornographic Polaroid photos and glamour posters and a Higgins Helitours calendar. The tables in the mess are scattered with porn magazines and DVDs. The galley has ThriftEX equipment and a first aid kit pickup.

On the internal stairway from the crew quarters to the mess, there is a carton of ammunition marked with a faux-Russian Ammu-Nation logo "AMMU-ZATIOZ".

The accessible part of the hold reveals the ship is carrying crates of goods including Cherenkov Vodka, Kakagawa and Fruit Computers electronics, and other Russian-labelled goods.

The ship is almost identical to the Octopus with mainly cosmetic variances.

Events of Grand Theft Auto IV
Niko Bellic sailed on the ship for several months, along with Hossan Ramzy, before disembarking in Liberty City. When the ship docks in East Hook, Broker, the ship is carrying immigrants from across the world, including Greece, Russia, Egypt, Taiwan, Thailand, China, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Platypus was revealed to be involved in smuggling operations, including diamonds, heroin, and sports cars.

According to news reports, the captain and entire crew of the Platypus disappeared shortly after the ship docked and the passengers disembarked. One of the crew was engaging in sadomasochism with a woman as the ship was docking and was later found in the Humboldt River with whip scars on his back.

The diamonds that interweave between the main stories of Grand Theft Auto IV, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony came from the Platypus when Anthony Prince attempted to purchase them from one of the ship's crew, The Cook. When the deal was done, Johnny Klebitz and The Lost MC ambushed the deal and stole the diamonds for Ray Boccino.

The ship remains docked in Broker throughout the game and, if Niko chooses to exact his revenge on Dimitri Rascalov, is the setting for their final confrontation, suggesting Dimitri intended to use it to flee the United States. After this, he calls Roman to tell him that "it ended where it began".

Events of GTA IV Multiplayer
The Platypus is also included in the Bomb Da Base II mode of GTA IV's multiplayer. After stealing a Securicar loaded with explosives, online players playing as Petrovic Family gangsters fly a Maverick to the Platypus. Arriving at the Platypus, a heavy gun battle begins between the Albanians and the players. Two bombs must be planted on either the upper or lower levels of the ship while gunning down Albanians. The multiplayer team must then escape the ship before the explosion.

If the multiplayer storyline is to be considered canon with the campaign, that would mean the Platypus was destroyed.

Known Crew

 * Zorba Philippidis (Captain)
 * Niko Bellic
 * Hossan Ramzy
 * The Cook
 * Dave Bosoy
 * Ed the Mate
 * Cousins of the Triad Boss
 * Unknown cleaners

Location
East Hook, Broker, Liberty City.

Trivia

 * The ship's name comes from the platypus, a semi-aquatic mammal native to Australia.
 * This is one of the best places to get the achievement/trophy "One Man Army" if one can get on the deck.
 * In The Cousins Bellic, Niko claims that he and the other passengers have been on the ship for seven months; however, in Hossan's Random Encounter he says that it had been three months. This may be because Hossan boarded the ship after Niko, at a different port.
 * The ship is featured in the "Karin Dilettante" commercial for GTA IV, doubling as a cargo ship transporting dozens of Dilettantes to Liberty City.

Navigation
Platypus (IV) PLATYPUS Platypus Platypus Platypus