"Red Ensign Group The Red Ensign Group is a collaboration of United Kingdom shipping registries that include British Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies. It takes its name from the Red Ensign (""Red Duster"") flag flown by British civil merchant ships. The group’s stated purpose is to combine resources in order to maintain a reputation for safety and quality across the British fleet. As of 2016 the Red Ensign Group ranked seventh in the world as measured by gross tons (GT). Sir Alan Massey of the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency commented "".. keeping [ships] inside the REG family means that"
"sailing under independent command). The white ensign and the blue ensign were also used by the Royal Navy. Many in the Admiralty felt that the Royal Navy's use of three separate ensigns (i.e., the red, white, and blue) was outdated and confusing. Many also felt that steam merchantmen should be clearly distinguishable from warships. In July 1864, an order-in-council provided that the White Ensign was the ensign of the Royal Naval Service. The Blue Ensign was designated as the proper national colours for ships commanded by an officer of the Royal Naval Reserve, and (with an appropriate badge) as national"
"colours for ships in government service. The Red Ensign was assigned to British merchantmen. This basic structure remains today. A few years later (1867–1869), the Admiralty determined that the blue ensign charged with an appropriate badge in the fly would be used as the ensign by those ships in the armed, or public, service of the many British colonies. Most British colonies needed to use the blue ensign due to the fact that most had government vessels; some colonies, such as South Australia, had warships. As a result, the Blue Ensign was used throughout the Empire and thus became the"
"(Royal Navy), the Red ensign (Merchant and private boats) or the Blue ensign (government departments and public corporations). Similar ensigns are used by other countries (such as New Zealand and Australia) with the Union Flag in the canton. Other Commonwealth countries (such as India and Jamaica) may follow similar ensign etiquette as the UK, replacing the Union Flag with their own national flag. The flag in a white border occasionally seen on merchant ships was sometimes referred to as the Pilot Jack. It can be traced back to 1823 when it was created as a signal flag, never intended as"
"and states that ""The flag which every British ship is entitled to fly is the Red Ensign (without any defacement or modification) and, subject to (a warrant from Her Majesty or from the Secretary of State, or an Order of Council from her Majesty regarding a defaced Red Ensign), no other colours."" Many civil vessels continue to fly the white bordered Union Flag without official opposition, making it the de facto Civil Jack. The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) was one of a few non-government institutions using the Union Jack in part of the flag. HBC rival North West Company had"
"in 2006. The U.S. Navy destroyer is the only U.S. warship to fly the White Ensign along with the Stars and Stripes to honour her British namesake, the former prime minister. Isambard Kingdom Brunel's , although a merchant ship, appears to have worn (and still bears and flies, preserved in dry dock as a historical exhibit / museum ship) the White Ensign, apparently because its first master (an ex-Royal Navy man) brought it with him. The White Ensign was historically used, in its unaltered form, by the naval forces of Australia, Canada and New Zealand, with the Blue Ensign of"
"Indian Naval Ensign The Indian Naval Ensign (also known as the Indian White Ensign) is a naval ensign used by ships of the Indian Navy. The blue ensign of the Star of India was used from 1879–1928 as the naval ensign of Her Majesty's Indian Marine (1879-1892) and then the Royal Indian Marine (1892-1928). It then became the naval jack and was used from 1928–1947 by the Royal Indian Marine (1928-1934) and then the Royal Indian Navy (1934-1950). The white ensign of the Royal Navy was used from 1928–1950 as the naval ensign of the Royal Indian Marine and then"
"Red Ensign for Merchant Navy Day’ launched in 2015, and takes place on Merchant Navy Day on 3 September. The campaign encourages public bodies to fly the Red Ensign, the official flag of the UK Merchant Navy, ashore atop civic buildings and on prominent flag poles to raise public awareness of the UK's dependence as an ‘island nation’ on seafarers past, present and future. In 2018, the campaign saw more than 800 Red Ensigns flown ashore on Merchant Navy Day. Seafarers UK receives no statutory funding and relies on supporters, donors and volunteers to be able to carry on providing"
"with the sky and the ocean. Hence in 2004, the ensign was changed back to the St. George's cross design, with the addition of the emblem of India in the intersection of the cross. In 2014, the ensign as well as the naval crest was further modified to correct the omission of the national motto in Devanagari script: सत्यमेव जयते (Satyameva Jayate) which means 'Truth Alone Triumphs' in Sanskrit. Indian Naval Ensign The Indian Naval Ensign (also known as the Indian White Ensign) is a naval ensign used by ships of the Indian Navy. The blue ensign of the Star"
"on special occasions such as the Queen's birthday, and may be similarly be worn by foreign warships when in British waters when dressed in honour of a British holiday or when firing a salute to British authorities. The White Ensign may also be worn by the boats of commissioned ships. Yachts of the Royal Yacht Squadron and the Trinity House vessels when escorting the British Monarch (King or Queen of the United Kingdom) are also permitted to wear the White Ensign. On land, the White Ensign is flown at all naval shore establishments (which are commissioned warships), including all Royal"
"service or commanded by an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve, and the White Ensign was allocated to the Navy. Thus, after 1864, the plain blue ensign (i.e., without any defacement or modification) is permitted to be worn, instead of the Red Ensign, by three categories of civilian vessel: Permission for yachts to wear the blue ensign (and other special yachting ensigns) was suspended during both World War I and World War II. Since 1864, the Blue Ensign is defaced with a badge or emblem, to form the ensign of United Kingdom government departments or public bodies. Current defaced Blue"
"traditional sign of defiance, indicating that the colors will never be struck, that the ship will never surrender. On 23 September 1779, Capt. Richard Pearson of HMS ""Serapis"", nailed the British ensign to the ensign staff with his own hands before going into battle against Continental Navy ship ""Bonhomme Richard"". He had to tear it down himself when surrendering. During the same battle, ""Bonhomme Richard""'s ensign was shot away. When Pearson saw that the colors were down, he asked Capt. John Paul Jones of ""Bonhomme Richard"" if Jones had struck his colors. Jones has been quoted as replying, ""I have"
"these vessels to fly the Australian Red Ensign. The ""Shipping Registration Act 1981"" reaffirmed that the Australian Red Ensign was the proper ""colours"" for commercial ships over in tonnage length. As a result of the declaration of 3 September as Merchant Navy Day in 2008, the Red Ensign can be flown on land alongside the Australian national flag on this occasion as a matter of protocol. The Blue Ensign replaced the Union Jack at the Olympic Games at St Louis in 1904. In the same year, due to lobbying by Richard Crouch MP, it had the same status as the"
"blue. In the center is a red crown. Crossing in the center of the crown is an English officer’s sword and a seax.""The traditional Navy colors were chosen for the shield because dark blue and gold represents the sea and excellence respectively. The seax signifies a series of victories by Stephen Decatur over sea forces of North African terrorist nations. The English officer’s sword symbolizes Decatur’s victory over HMS ""Macedonian"" during the war of 1812 in one of the greatest single ship actions of naval history. The celestial crown symbolizes anti-air warfare capabilities. The crown has five mullets for each"
"Ensigns (besides yacht clubs listed below) are: Yachting Blue Ensigns defaced by the badge of the club were recorded in the Navy List until 1985, and now they are administered by the Royal Yachting Association for the Ministry of Defence. Current defaced Blue Ensigns are: Current flags: Former flags: The defaced blue ensign was formerly used as: The badge in the flag consists of Mercury, the god of Commerce and Merchandise, presenting to Britannia, a fisherman who, in a kneeling attitude, is offering the harvest of all the sea. Above the device in a scroll are the words ""Terra Nova"","
"crowns a hundred years before, were inserted in all ensigns, naval and mercantile. An Order in Council of 21 July 1707, established as naval flags of the royal standard, the Union flag and ""the ensign directed by her Majesty since the said Union of the two Kingdoms"", which from the coloured drafts attached to the order is seen to be the red ensign. The white and blue ensigns are not mentioned in this Order; evidently the red ensign was alone regarded as the legal ensign of Great Britain and the others as merely variations of it for tactical purposes. In"
"Ensign, and a Blue Ensign on the other side. On 1 April 1943, an RAF Ensign was substituted for the White Ensign on the west side. The flags displayed as of 2007 represent the Royal Navy, the British Army, the Royal Air Force and the Merchant Navy. The Blue Ensign represents the Royal Naval Reserve, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and other government services; it is possible that it was also intended to represent Dominion forces. Initially the flags were changed for cleaning every six to eight weeks, but between 1922 and 1923 the practice gradually stopped until letters to the"
"and the Union Jack in the canton was replaced with the Indian Tricolour. Apart from a brief period from 2001–2004, the Indian Navy has retained its variant of the White Ensign with one minor modification: the addition of the Lion Capital of Asoka crest in gold at the centre of the cross. Effective from 15 August 2014, the Indian national motto """"Satyameva Jayate"""" (""Truth Alone Triumphs"") will be added in gold script below the crest, correcting a long-standing omission. Aside from being flown by the Arleigh Burke class destroyer , the British Naval Ensign is authorised to be used at"
"all Ministry of Defence-owned vessels that were not part of the Royal Navy, RFAS or RMAS. In 1996, most RMAS vessels were transferred to Serco Denholm, which operated them under a commercial contract, flying the Government Service Ensign. In 2008, all remaining RMAS vessels were transferred to Serco Denholm and the RMAS was abolished. Government Service Ensign The Government Service Ensign is a defaced Blue Ensign flown by vessels owned by the British Ministry of Defence for which no other ensign is appropriate. It is most commonly seen flown by warships undergoing contractors' trials before being commissioned into the Royal"
"and coat of arms by the British monarch. Traditionally, the flags follow the Blue Ensign design, with the Union Flag in the canton, and the territory's coat of arms in the fly. Exceptions to this are Bermuda which uses a Red Ensign; British Antarctic Territory which uses a White Ensign; British Indian Ocean Territory which uses a Blue Ensign with wavy lines to symbolise the sea; and Gibraltar which uses a banner of its coat of arms (the flag of the city of Gibraltar). Akrotiri and Dhekelia and Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha are the only British overseas"
"for maritime use. Most countries do not have a separate state ensign, although the United Kingdom is a rare exception, in having a red ensign for civil use, a white ensign as its naval ensign, and a blue ensign for government non-military vessels. There is a great deal of protocol involved in the proper display of national flags. A general rule is that the national flag should be flown in the position of honour, and not in an inferior position to any other flag (although some countries make an exception for royal standards). The following rules are typical of the"
"it was progressively phased out in favour of a new pennant of Canadian design, where the maple leaf replaces St. George's cross. Canadian Naval Ensign The Canadian Naval Ensign () is the flag worn at the stern or (optionally when at sea) at the gaff of Her Majesty's Canadian ships. The ensign is also the flag of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and is used on land in this capacity. Prior to the creation of the RCN, Canadian Government Ships of the Fisheries Protection Service had to use a defaced Blue Ensign with colonial badge as per the Colonial Navy"
"background: #aabccc;""|Notes On 3 March 1911, the RCN was authorized the use of the White Ensign, which remained the main identifying flag of the navy for the next 54 years. At the same time, the Canadian Blue Ensign was designated the jack of the RCN. However, because naval tradition dictates that the jack is worn at the ship's bow only when moored or on ""dress ship"" occasions, HMC ships normally had no distinctly Canadian flags when under way, the White Ensign being identical to the Royal Navy's ensign. Because of this, a tradition developed of painting a green maple leaf"
"was legally interpreted as a flag that could be flown on a merchant ship, as a jack if desired. This status was confirmed to an extent by the Merchant Shipping (Registration, etc.) Act 1993 and the consolidating Merchant Shipping Act 1995 which, in Section 4, Subsection 1, prohibits the use of any distinctive national colours or those used or resembling flags or pendants on Her Majesty's Ships, ""except the Red Ensign, the Union flag (commonly known as the Union Jack) with a white border"", and some other exceptions permitted elsewhere in the Acts. However, Section 2 regards the ""British flag"","
"used during the 16th century, and were often striped in green and white (the Tudor colours), but other colours were also used to indicate different squadrons, including blue, red and tawny brown. (These striped ensigns can be seen in use on both English and Spanish warships in contemporary paintings of the 1588 Spanish Armada battles). Later, there was usually a St George's Cross in the upper canton, or sewn across the field as on the modern White Ensign. These striped ensigns continued in use under the Stuart kings: the Naval ensign of 1623 is described as having ""15 horizontal stripes"
"use to the royal ships. After the Acts of Union 1707, the flag gained a regularised status as ""the ensign armorial of the Kingdom of Great Britain"", the newly created state. It was then adopted by land forces as well, although the blue field used on land-based versions more closely resembled that of the blue of the flag of Scotland. Various shades of blue have been used in the saltire over the years. The ground of the current Union Flag is a deep ""navy"" blue (Pantone 280), which can be traced to the colour used for the Blue Ensign of"
"but this is mostly limited to the coats of arms only. After 1450, however, those two designs are often seen flying side by side. By the time of the House of Bourbon, the royal colours had merged making blue, red, and white the royal colours; Henry IV of France even had his entire entourage dress in these colours. These colours, for these or other reasons, also became the colours of the French ensigns. A plain white ensign indicated the French sailing fleet, a red flag a galley, while the blue flag was flown by the merchant ships. It's somewhat unclear"
"a naval ensign. The ensign, with the four colors of the FMS, was flown by HMS Malaya (commanded by Captain Boyle under the 5th Battle Squadron of the British Grand Fleet) during the Battle of Jutland, where it was said to make ""Malaya"" resemble ""an enraged P&O,"" due to the ensign's resemblance to the house flag of the shipping line. The colors and the four stripes represented the four states of the federation. The colors white, red, yellow and black represented the colors used in the flag of the four states; Flag of the Federated Malay States The flag of"
"of Newfoundland and re-affirmed the red and blue ensigns as official flags for marine identification. Between 1907 and 1931, however, the red ensign gained wide enough use, both at sea and on land by civilians and government alike, that it was considered to be the national flag. The badge in the ensigns consists of Mercury, the god of commerce and merchandise, presenting to Britannia a fisherman who, in a kneeling attitude, is offering the harvest of all the sea. Above the device in a scroll are the Latin words 'Terra Nova', and below the motto ""Hæc Tibi Dona Fero"" or"
"and the unit numeral is below. The Royal Cypher is at the other corners. The Regimental Colours also have the coloured cords and tassels, which are gold combined with the following colours: The former 41 Commando was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for its service in the Korean War, and was thus permitted to carry the streamer on its Regimental Colour. The Colours of Her Majesty's ships in the Royal Navy consist of: In addition, each principal command in the Royal Navy also has its own Queen's Colour which is a variation of the White Ensign, with its dimensions altered"
"to have the Scottish Ensign officially recognised, on the basis that the Merchant Shipping Act of 1995 permits Her Majesty the Queen in Council or a Secretary of State to approve ""any colours consisting of the Red Ensign defaced or modified"". Supporters cited the example of the States of Jersey, who in 2010 were permitted to use a ""voluntary or informal"" red ensign, adorned with a Plantagenet crown. The movement culminated in a petition for the Scottish Government to seek a warrant from the U.K. government to reintroduce the flag as an ""informal or voluntary ensign"" for Scottish merchant vessels."
"HMS Monmouth (F235) HMS ""Monmouth"" is the sixth ""Duke""-class Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She is the seventh ship to bear the name and was launched by Lady Eaton in 1991, being commissioned two years later. Affectionately known as ""The Black Duke"", ""Monmouth"" is the only ship in service with the Royal Navy that has its name painted in black and flies a plain black flag in addition to the ensign. This is due to the dissolution of the title and the blacking out of the Coat of Arms of the Duke of Monmouth in 1685 following the"
"in 1853 there were 79 admirals. Although admirals were promoted according to strict seniority, appointments to command were made at the discretion of the Board of Admiralty. As there were invariably more admirals in service than there were postings, many admirals remained unemployed, especially in peacetime. The organisation of the fleet into coloured squadrons was finally abandoned in 1864. The Red Ensign was allocated to the Merchant Navy, the White Ensign became the flag of the Royal Navy, and the Blue Ensign was allocated to the naval reserve and naval auxiliary vessels. The 18th- and 19th-century British Navy also maintained"