As a mark of respect.

Merchant ship flag etiquette. All British ships including yachts are entitled to wear the Red Ensign under the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. However it is to note that if a merchant or private ship is passing by a warship the merchant ship must lower its ensign flag as a matter of respect to the warship. This flag is also termed as the courtesy flag.

When the ship reaches the destination country the ensign flag of that country is flown from the yardarm of the ship. The Q flag is the first flag that you must raise when entering foreign waters or a foreign port. These are known as the red white and blue ensigns respectively.

UN Conventions for Maritime Flags. Likewise the nationality of an important guest on board is displayed this way. A UK vessel should always fly the national maritime flag in daylight which is the Red Ensign unless you are authorised to fly a Special Ensign.

The ensign should be hoisted at 8 am and lowered at 9 pm or sunset whichever is earlier every day when the ship is in harbor. When a merchant ship passes a warship etiquette requires the merchant ship to dip their ensigns in a salute normally a nations flag is never dipped to anyone. Maybe youve wondered why some ships fly their flags on the stern.

You will notice for clarity the flags shown are either red and white yellow and blue blue and white or black and white. Flags or different types may mean different things to different people depending on where or when they are flown on a vessel. If the crews nationality differs from that of the yacht the crews national flag can be flown under the courtesy flag at the starboard spreader.

Flags Related to Boating This is a very wide aspect of flag etiquette. Red blue yellow black and white. The warship will dip their flag in acknowledgment.