![]() 'D35' is destroyer 35 – HMS Dragon) and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth use pennant numbers. Each navy has its own system: the United States Navy uses hull classification symbols, and the Royal Navy (e.g. These identification codes were, and still are, painted on the side of the ship. ![]() However, not all navies used prefixes this includes the significant navies of China, France and Russia.įrom the 20th century onwards, most navies identify ships by letters or hull numbers (pennant numbers) or a combination of such. United States Navy prefixes officially only apply while a ship is in active commission, with only the name used before or after a period of commission and for all vessels "in service" rather than commissioned status. 549 of 1907, which made "United States Ship" (USS) the standard signifier for USN ships on active commissioned service. In the early days of the United States Navy, abbreviations often included the type of vessel, for instance "USF" (United States Frigate), but this method was abandoned by President Theodore Roosevelt's Executive Order No. Commonwealth navies adopted a variation, with, for example, HMAS, HMCS, and HMNZS pertaining to Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, respectively. The Royal Navy also adopted nomenclature that reflected a vessel's type or purpose, e.g. Historically, the most significant navy was Britain's Royal Navy, which has usually used the prefix "HMS", standing for "His/Her Majesty's Ship". Prefixes used for naval ships primarily reflect ownership, but may also indicate a vessel's type or purpose as a sub-set. Prefixes indicating a vessel's purpose (e.g., "RMS" ( Royal Mail ship) or "RV" ( research vessel)) are also used. In many cases though, these abbreviations are used for purely formal, legal identification and are not used colloquially or in the daily working environment. In terms of abbreviations that may reflect a vessel's purpose or function, technology has introduced a broad variety of differently named vessels onto the world's oceans, such as "LPGC" (liquified petroleum gas carrier), or "TB" (tug-boat), or "DB" (derrick barge). ![]() These days, general civilian prefixes are used inconsistently, and frequently not at all. Historically, prefixes for civilian vessels often identified the vessel's mode of propulsion, such as "MV" ( motor vessel), "SS" ( screw steamer often cited as "steam ship"), or "PS" ( paddle steamer). NATO designations such as FS (French Ship), FGS (Federal German Ship), and SPS (Spanish Ship) can be used if needed. Among the blue-water navies, those of France, Brazil, China, Russia, Germany, and Spain do not use ship prefixes. For example, the modern navy of Japan adopts the prefix "JS" – Japanese Ship. Today the common practice is to use a single prefix for all warships of a nation's navy, and other prefixes for auxiliaries and ships of allied services, such as coast guards. In the modern environment, prefixes are cited inconsistently in civilian service, whereas in government service a vessel's prefix is seldom omitted due to government regulations dictating that a certain prefix be used. This ship's prefix "MSC" indicates the owner, Mediterranean Shipping Company.Ī ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship that has historically served numerous purposes, such as identifying the vessel's mode of propulsion, purpose, or ownership/nationality.
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