If you have a ship in the coastal waters of a foreign province you can spy on that province (see all the units and buildings) UNLESS the faction that owns the province also has a ship in the same coastal waters.
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If you have a ship in the coastal waters of a foreign province you can spy on that province (see all the units and buildings) UNLESS the faction that owns the province also has a ship in the same coastal waters.
I try to have a ship off every coast. Not only does it allow you to keep tabs on your adversaries (and is much more efficient than sending spies everwhere - at least for provinces on the coast), it also provides a hefty trade income and allows your armies great mobility. Its a lot more expensive to set up than a spy network, but its is much more robust, and easily pays for itself. Recently I've been building more powerful warships than the basic ones, so I can deny my enemies the advantages I've been getting from having ships everywhere.
For factions like Italy, Byzantium and England, fleets are pretty much a prerequisite for doing well in the game.
it`s definately cheaper than my spies, they keep getting killed, so i`m continually making them and emisaries to keep tabs on the landlocked states.