Ship new type of gas (5)
I believe the answer is:
argon
'type of gas' is the definition.
(I know that argon is a type of argonon)
'ship new' is the wordplay.
'ship' becomes 'Argo' (ship in Greek myth).
'new' becomes 'n' (common abbreviation eg NT for New Testament).
'argo'+'n'='ARGON'
(Other definitions for argon that I've seen before include "something inert and insubstantial" , "Noble gas, Ar" , "Noble gas, atomic number 18" , "An insert gas to groan about" , "noble element" .)