A monohull surface ship has a hull having a profile which produces a high pressure area at a bottom portion of the hull in a stern section of the hull and hydrodynamic lifting of the stern section at a speed above a length Froude number of 0.30. The ship includes an apparatus for introducing a drag reducing substance into the boundary layer of water flowing over a submerged portion of the hull in substantially straight flow lines relative to the waterline to reduce skin-friction over a relatively large wetted area of the hull at speeds exceeding a length Froude number of 0.25.