In episode 312, "Thank You, Merry! In the episode "The Sea of Departure in the Mist of Snow", the incarnation of the Ship Spirit breaks in half at sea after successfully rescuing the Straw Hat gang. As his time was up, the Spirit of the Ship said an emotional goodbye to the Straw Hat gang, and Luffy sent the Forward Merry on its final journey with a cremation ceremony, thus ending the great and honorable mission of the Forward Merry.
Detailed Plot:
The Merry, which saved Luffy and his party in the time of crisis on Justice Island, was in fact damaged because of being hit by the Gods of Water, but Merry's words of "wanting to sail again" struck the heart of the Iceberg, and so he once again urgently repaired the Merry to give the Merry the opportunity to sail for the last time. The last chance to sail. Therefore, Merry saved the Straw Hat Pirates, whom she cared about the most, on her last voyage.
Expanded InformationThe Golden Merry (ゴーイングメリー, Going Merry)
was the original Straw Hat Pirates' pirate ship. Golden Merry is the first pirate ship of the Straw Hat Pirates, is a skeleton structure, spinnaker all use the aft center helm method of "Caravel sailing" (Caravel), the bow of the ship is a sheep's head, lovely shape. It is one of the important partners of the Straw Hat Pirates.
When the Straw Hat Pirates were trapped on Justice Island, Merry (ship spirit) pleaded with Iceberg to let it sail one last time to save Luffy and his party, and Merry's incarnation of the "Ship's Spirit" saved Luffy and his party at the critical time, but because of the end of the day, the life expectancy was exhausted on the way. Luffy sent the Golden Meli on its final journey with a cremation ceremony, thus ending the Golden Meli's great mission.
References: