The list of ship launches in 1987 includes a chronological list of all ships launched in 1987.

Date	Country	Builder	Location	Ship	Class / type	Notes
17 January	United States	Avondale Shipyard	Avondale, Louisiana	Andrew J. Higgins	Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler
23 January	Japan			Yukishio	Yūshio-class submarine
29 January	Spain	Bazan	Ferrol	Numancia	Santa María-class frigate
30 January	Japan	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries		Shimakaze	Hatakaze-class destroyer
30 January	West Germany	Orenstein & Koppel	Lübeck	Vogelsand	Nordstand-class tug
25 February	Italy	Fincantieri		San Giorgio	San Giorgio-class amphibious transport dock
7 March	West Germany	Deggendorfer Werft und Eisenbau		Mozart	River cruise ship	For Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft
3 April	United States	Ingalls Shipbuilding	Pascagoula, Mississippi	Lake Champlain	Ticonderoga-class cruiser
4 April	France	Chantiers de l'Atlantique	Saint-Nazaire	Sovereign of the Seas	Sovereign-class cruise ship	For Royal Caribbean International
24 April	Turkey	Gölcük Naval Shipyard		Fatih	Yavuz-class frigate
24 April	West Germany	Kröger-Werft	Schacht-Audorf	Atair	Vermessungs-, Wracksuch- und Forschungsschiffe des BSH	For Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure
28 April	West Germany	Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft	Kiel	Tupi	Type 209 submarine	For Marinha do Brasil
3 May	Soviet Union	Werft 340	Zelenodolsk	SKR-451	Koni-class frigate	For Soviet Navy
9 May	West Germany	Elsfleth shipyard	Elsfleth	Kronsort	Schwedeneck-class research vessel	For German Navy
13 June	United States	Newport News Shipbuilding	Newport News, Virginia	Albany	Los Angeles-class submarine
17 June	Finland	Wärtsilä Marine Vuosaari shipyard	Helsinki	Kapitan Danilkin	SA-15 type cargo ship
27 June	United States	Avondale Shipyard	Avondale, Louisiana	Gunston Hall	Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship
10 July	United Kingdom	Yarrow Shipbuilders	Glasgow	Norfolk	Type 23 frigate
12 July	United States	Bath Iron Works	Bath, Maine	Philippine Sea	Ticonderoga-class cruiser
13 July	France	Ateliers et chantiers du Havre	Le Havre	Wind Spirit	Motor sailing yacht	For Windstar Cruises[1]
18 July	Yugoslavia	Brodogradevna Industrija	Split	Amorella	Cruiseferry	for SF Line for Viking Line traffic
31 July	West Germany	Kröger shipyard	Schacht-Audorf	Helmsand	Schwedeneck-class research vessel	For German Navy
4 August	United States	Ingalls Shipbuilding	Pascagoula, Mississippi	Wasp	Wasp-class amphibious assault ship
10 August	West Germany	Johann Oelkers KG	Hamburg	Bülk	Tugboat	For Schlepp- und Fährgesellschaft Kiel
9 September	Japan			Amagiri	Asagiri-class destroyer
12 September	United States	Electric Boat	Groton, Connecticut	Pasadena	Los Angeles-class submarine
17 September	West Germany	Bremer Vulkan	Bremen-Vegesack	Augsburg	Bremen-class frigate	For German Navy
21 September	Japan			Yūgiri	Asagiri-class destroyer
23  September	United Kingdom	Harland & Wolff	Belfast	Ironbridge	Bulk carrier	For British Steel Corporation.[2]
2 October	United States	Ingalls Shipbuilding	Pascagoula, Mississippi	Princeton	Ticonderoga-class cruiser
2 October	United States	Avondale Shipyard	Avondale, Louisiana	Walter S. Diehl	Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler
7 October	United Kingdom	Cammell Laird	Birkenhead	Campbeltown	Type 22 frigate
10 October	Italy	Fincantieri		San Marco	San Giorgio-class amphibious transport dock
10 October	Japan			Yamagiri	Asagiri-class destroyer
15 October	West Germany	Nordseewerke	Emden	Lübeck	Bremen-class frigate	For German Navy
1 November	West Germany	Meyer Werft	Papenburg	Crown Odyssey	Cruise ship	For Royal Cruise Line
8 December	United Kingdom	Ferguson Shipbuilders	Port Glasgow	Isle of Mull	Ferry	For Caledonian MacBrayne
19 December	Japan	Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co	Onishi	Reijin	Car transporter	For Nissan Prince Kaiun K.K.
Unknown date	China	Huludao Shipyard	Huludao, Liaoning Province	Changzheng 4	Type 091 nuclear-powered attack submarine
Unknown date	United Kingdom	Harland & Wolff	Belfast	Seillean	SWOPS ship	For BP Petroleum Development.[3]