From what she and Ikazuchi says, it seems shipgirls in this setting are the "human girls imbued with the powers of WW2 ships, yet retaining their human memories and personalities" type, and thus Akatsuki is referring to their human selves.
You gotta condition yourself every day if you wanna survive there.Hold it, Akatsuki! I'm the flagship on this mission, you gotta follow my orders!Screw that! We've got nothing but expeditions and classes all day, I'm sick of it!And I don't even have anyone to complain to...I'm sorry our Akatsuki is such a brat.Akatsuki-oneechan, it's wrong to say something like that, Tenryuu-san is only looking out for us...I want a real battle! I wanna fight some abyssals!StaaareHmph! You're so full of it but you're nothing more than ancient junk serving as an expedition accessory.Don't get all touchy-feely with me, we're not blood related.
Eeek!
Hey Akatsuki! Don't you know, it's a custom for the ships of the same type to vow to be sisters?Don't think you'll always have the luck to be able to use the modern equipment. When you're out in the sea, losing track of your position is the same as being sunk.
