A small fleet of ships (8)
I believe the answer is:
flotilla
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">a small fleet of ships</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this before)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for flotilla that I've seen before include "number of vessels" , "set of vessels" , "Fleet of small craft" , "collection of vessels" , "many boats" .)