Risen 2 - Interview @ GameSpot

Daniel Oberlerchner, senior brand manager at Deep Silver, has been interviewed at GameSpot about Risen 2. He reveals they are " slowly but surely leaving the content creation phase" and entering Alpha. Here's a snip on moving around the islands:

GS: We were told in March that Risen 2 will take place across numerous islands, rather than on a single landmass, and that there would be some as-yet undisclosed means of transporting your pirate hero and his companions to and from different islands. Is it safe to assume that this method of transportation might be some sort of ship, perhaps of the pirate variety, as it were? If Risen 2 were, in fact, to have a "pirate's ship," if you will, what other purposes would it serve? Customizable housing? A quest hub? A crafting hub?

DO: Yes, you will be able to command your very own ship in Risen 2! The decision to make the ship the central means of transport in the game was based on the feedback from the fans. In Risen 1, even key characters dropped in and out of the storyline, and the players felt a bit isolated--they wanted a sense of ongoing companionship. For this reason, the ship in Risen 2 will not only get you from point A to point B, but will function as a hub for your companions where the player can talk to and get quests from them. So it helps to add the flavor of a party in an RPG without the hassle to the player of having to manage multiple characters all the time.