Ensign (flag)

Vexillology

Vexillologists distinguish between three varieties of ensigns:

• A state ensign or government ensign (usage symbol ) is worn by government vessels of official government agencies or civilian equipped auxiliary ships.

• A naval ensign (usage symbol ) is worn by a country's navy as a war flag for military ships. The term "war flag" is used irrespective of if a given country is at war. Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle. The ensign differs from the jack, which is additionally flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel if they are at the port.

• A civil ensign (usage symbol ) is worn by merchant and pleasure vessels. The merchant maritime flag or civil ensign is, therefore, the specific flag for the Merchant navy of a country, unless the (private) owners are authorized to use another. The commercial flag was created to allow these private individuals to declare their nationality. Some countries have a specific yacht ensign for recreational boats without declared cargo, which differs from the regular ensign. Merchant flags can only be flown by ships that are not ships of war, ships of state, auxiliary ships or yachts. These ships do not represent an extraterritorial area, but rather belong to a private person or similar and thus do not represent the state itself. This means that the use of the national or even state flag is normally forbidden.

Some countries like the United States and France use just one flag as an ensign and also as a jack, while lacking special cantons and transparent identification. All ships of the seagoing services of the United States Government except for the United States Coast Guard fly the national flag as their ensign, although the ships of some agencies also fly an agency flag as a distinctive mark.

Countries like Ukraine, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan use different ensigns. These are strictly regulated and indicate if the vessel is a warship, a merchant ship, a ship under contract to carry mail, or a yacht, for example.

The national flags of several Commonwealth countries originated in the ensigns of the United Kingdom. Some of these national flags include those of Australia, New Zealand and several island nations. It is also very likely that the Continental Union Flag, from which the flag of the United States developed, was strongly influenced by either the British Red Ensign or the flag of the British East India Company.

Usage

In nautical use, every boat uses a flag belonging to a specific Nation to indicate its organizational membership. This flag signifies the home port of the ship owner and that taxes for ship-related income are paid there. Flagging out always means that the relevant laws of the country apply on the ship. This includes employment contracts, safety regulations, stamp duty or value-added taxes.

In most countries, especially in Europe and the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, it is common for the ensign to display additional information, like whether it is a civil, state or military flag.

Ensigns are usually at the stern flagstaff when in port, and may be shifted to a gaff (if available) or mast amidships when the ship is under way, becoming known as a steaming ensign.

A boat flag is also often used as guest country flag and is flown on the boat when navigating in foreign waters or entering another country's port.

Air ensigns

With the creation of independent air forces and the growth in civil aviation in the first half of the 20th century, a range of distinguishing flags and ensigns were adopted. These may be divided into air force ensigns (often light blue in color, such as the Royal Air Force Ensign) and civil air ensigns.

Heraldic ensigns

In heraldry, an ensign is an ornament or sign, such as the crown, coronet, or mitre, borne above the charge or arms.