"Da Forfeit O' Da Ship" is a Shetland reel in D Major. The parts are played AB (Boys/Lough) or AABB (Anderson & Georgeson, Cooke, Hunter, Martin, Martin & Hughes, Phillips). It is in the repertory of Tom Anderson's Shetland Fiddle Band and therefore widely known in the islands. Tom Anderson (1970, 1978) states the tune is supposed to be one of the tunes composed by an unknown fiddler-whaler, inspired by the sound of the sea breaking on the bows of a sailing ship. Robin Morton (1976) believes there is Scandinavian influence apparent in the melody. It was printed in Anderson & Georgeson's Da Mirrie Dancers (1970), Anderson & Swing's Haand Me Doon Da Fiddle (1979), Boys of the Lough's Music and Song from The Boys of the Lough - Music and Songs of Ireland, Scotland and Shetland (1977), Cooke's The Fiddle Tradition of the Shetland Isles (1986), Hunter's The Fiddle Music of Scotland (1988), Martin's Traditional Scottish Fiddling (2002), Martin & Hughes' Ho-ro-gheallaidh, vol. 1 (1990) and Phillips' Fiddle Case Tunebook: British Isles (1989). It was recorded by Boys of the Lough on The Piper's Broken Finger (1976) and The Day Dawn (1994), Kevin Henderson on Fin da Laand Ageen (2011), Tom Anderson, Shetland Fiddlers on Shetland Fiddlers vol 3: Welcome to the Hamefarin (1985) and Da Reel Thing (1973), Aly Bain & Tom Anderson on Shetland Folk Fiddling, vol. 2 (1978) and The Silver Bow: The Fiddle Music of Shetland (1993), The Chieftains on A Chieftains Celebration (1989), Alasdair Fraser and Paul Machlis on Legacy Of The Scottish Fiddle Vol. 1 (2001).