A civil ensign is an ensign (maritime flag) used by civilian vessels to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from the state ensign and the naval ensign (or war ensign). It is also known as the merchant ensign or merchant flag. Some countries have special civil ensigns for yachts, and even for specific yacht clubs, known as yacht ensigns.
Most countries have only one national flag and ensign for all purposes. In other countries, a distinction is made between the land flag and the civil, state and naval ensigns. The British ensigns, for example, differ from the flag used on land (the Union Flag) and have different versions of plain and defaced Red and Blue ensigns for civilian and state use, as well as the naval ensign (White Ensign) that can also be used by yachts of the Royal Yacht Squadron.
The civil ensigns that are different from the general national flag can be grouped into a number of categories.
Civil ensigns with the national flag in the cantonedit
Several countries use red flags with, in most cases, either the respective national flag or the Union Flag in the canton, patterned after the Red Ensign. British overseas territories fly the plain Red Ensign or a Red Ensign with the respective colonial arms in the fly. Saudi Arabia puts its national flag in the canton of an otherwise-green flag (the Saudi Arabian flag is hoisted with the flagpole to its right so the canton is in the upper right corner of the flag). Ghana stopped using its Red Ensign in 2003 with the adoption of a new merchant shipping act, which made the Ghanaian flag the proper national colors for Ghanaian ships. Similarly, Sri Lanka stopped using its Red Ensign in 1969 and uses the Sri Lankan flag as the civil ensign. Under the relevant shipping law for the Solomon Islands, the Shipping Act 1998, (No. 5 of 1998), the national flag of the Solomon Islands and not a Red Ensign is the appropriate flag: "The National Flag of Solomon Islands shall be the national colours for a vessel registered under this Act."
Civil ensigns consisting of the national flag with an additional emblemedit
Well-known examples are the Italian civil ensign showing the shield with the arms of the sea republics, and the Polish civil ensign with the arms of Poland. Most of these emblems were added to distinguish the ensign from similar flags of other countries (e.g. Colombia/Ecuador) or from other signal flags (e.g. Malta/ H signal flag).
Civil ensigns that are simplified national flags with coat of arms removededit
In several countries (such as Spain and much of Hispanic America, and some European countries), there are two main versions of the flag, a simpler one (usually a striped flag) and a more elaborate one with the national arms. The simpler one is used as a civil ensign (and in most cases also as a civil flag), whereas the version with the arms is mainly used by the government and the military. In El Salvador, the civil ensign also differs from the national flag in the proportions.
Civil ensigns differing from the national flag in the proportionsedit
Several former British colonies use 1:2 as a proportion for their ensigns and 3:5 for flags ashore, whereas Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary have it the other way around, with ensigns at 2:3 and flags ashore at 1:2. France is a special case: the overall proportion is the same, but the bands on the ensign differ in width slightly.
^The red ensign, also the national flag, is an appropriate civil ensign for vessels registered on the Bermuda portion of the British Register, by virtue of the Bermuda Merchant Shipping Act of 2002.
^Previously used by West Germany prior to German Reunification in 1990.
^The square flag is used on most rivers and lakes.
^Since German Reunification, flag continues to be used as Germany's national flag & civil ensign.
January 01, 1970
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A civil ensign is an ensign maritime flag used by civilian vessels to denote their nationality It can be the same or different from the state ensign and the naval ensign or war ensign It is also known as the merchant ensign or merchant flag Some countries have special civil ensigns for yachts and even for specific yacht clubs known as yacht ensigns Most countries have only one national flag and ensign for all purposes In other countries a distinction is made between the land flag and the civil state and naval ensigns The British ensigns for example differ from the flag used on land the Union Flag and have different versions of plain and defaced Red and Blue ensigns for civilian and state use as well as the naval ensign White Ensign that can also be used by yachts of the Royal Yacht Squadron Contents 1 Countries having specific civil ensigns 1 1 Civil ensigns with the national flag in the canton 1 1 1 Sovereign states 1 1 2 British overseas territories and crown dependencies 1 2 Civil ensigns that vary greatly from the national flag 1 3 Civil ensigns consisting of the national flag with an additional emblem 1 4 Civil ensigns that are simplified national flags with coat of arms removed 1 5 Civil ensigns differing from the national flag in the proportions 1 6 Former civil ensigns no longer in current use or obsolete 2 See also 3 RemarksCountries having specific civil ensigns editThe civil ensigns that are different from the general national flag can be grouped into a number of categories Civil ensigns with the national flag in the canton edit Several countries use red flags with in most cases either the respective national flag or the Union Flag in the canton patterned after the Red Ensign British overseas territories fly the plain Red Ensign or a Red Ensign with the respective colonial arms in the fly Saudi Arabia puts its national flag in the canton of an otherwise green flag the Saudi Arabian flag is hoisted with the flagpole to its right so the canton is in the upper right corner of the flag Ghana stopped using its Red Ensign in 2003 with the adoption of a new merchant shipping act which made the Ghanaian flag the proper national colors for Ghanaian ships Similarly Sri Lanka stopped using its Red Ensign in 1969 and uses the Sri Lankan flag as the civil ensign Under the relevant shipping law for the Solomon Islands the Shipping Act 1998 No 5 of 1998 the national flag of the Solomon Islands and not a Red Ensign is the appropriate flag The National Flag of Solomon Islands shall be the national colours for a vessel registered under this Act Sovereign states edit nbsp Australia 1 nbsp Bangladesh nbsp Bahamas nbsp Fiji nbsp Ghana nbsp India nbsp Jamaica nbsp Malaysia nbsp Mauritius nbsp New Zealand nbsp Nigeria nbsp Pakistan nbsp nbsp Saudi Arabia nbsp nbsp Solomon Islands nbsp Sri Lanka nbsp United Arab Emirates 2 nbsp United Kingdom British overseas territories and crown dependencies edit nbsp Plain Red Ensign 3 nbsp Bermuda 4 nbsp British Virgin Islands nbsp Cayman Islands nbsp Falkland Islands nbsp Gibraltar nbsp Guernsey nbsp Isle of Man nbsp Jersey nbsp Turks and Caicos Islands Civil ensigns that vary greatly from the national flag edit Several countries have civil ensigns that are very different from the national flag nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignAlbania nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignIsrael nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignLuxembourg nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignMalta nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignMonaco nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignThe Philippines inland only nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignSingapore Civil ensigns consisting of the national flag with an additional emblem edit Well known examples are the Italian civil ensign showing the shield with the arms of the sea republics and the Polish civil ensign with the arms of Poland Most of these emblems were added to distinguish the ensign from similar flags of other countries e g Colombia Ecuador or from other signal flags e g Malta H signal flag nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignColombia nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignEl Salvador nbsp National flag nbsp merchant marine ensignItaly nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignMorocco 5 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignPoland nbsp National flag nbsp Yacht ensign US Waters only United States Yacht ensign unofficial nbsp National flag nbsp Yachting club ensignFinland Yacht ensign 6 nbsp Civil ensign nbsp Yachting club ensignSpain Yacht ensign Civil ensigns that are simplified national flags with coat of arms removed edit In several countries such as Spain and much of Hispanic America and some European countries there are two main versions of the flag a simpler one usually a striped flag and a more elaborate one with the national arms The simpler one is used as a civil ensign and in most cases also as a civil flag whereas the version with the arms is mainly used by the government and the military In El Salvador the civil ensign also differs from the national flag in the proportions nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignAndorra nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignArgentina nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignAustria nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignBolivia nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignCosta Rica nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignDominican Republic nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignEcuador nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignEl Salvador nbsp National flag nbsp National flagFinland nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignGermany 7 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignGuatemala nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignHaiti nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignHungary nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignPeru nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignRomania nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignSan Marino nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignSerbia nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignSpain nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignTransnistria nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignVenezuela Civil ensigns differing from the national flag in the proportions edit Several former British colonies use 1 2 as a proportion for their ensigns and 3 5 for flags ashore whereas Slovenia Croatia and Hungary have it the other way around with ensigns at 2 3 and flags ashore at 1 2 France is a special case the overall proportion is the same but the bands on the ensign differ in width slightly nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignBelgium nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignCroatia nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignGrenada nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignHungary nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignSlovenia nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignSwitzerland 8 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignTrinidad and Tobago Former civil ensigns no longer in current use or obsolete edit nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignAlbania 1945 1992 nbsp Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy nbsp Civil ensignAustria Hungary 1869 1918 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignBurma 1952 1974 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignBurma 1974 2010 nbsp National flag nbsp civil ensignCanada 1868 1921 nbsp National flag nbsp civil ensignCanada 1921 1957 nbsp National flag nbsp civil ensignCanada 1957 1965 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignChina Taiwan 1929 1966 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignCroatia Slavonia 1868 1918 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignCroatia 1939 1941 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignEngland 1674 1707 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignEthiopia 1975 1987 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignEthiopia 1991 1996 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignFinland 1918 1978 nbsp nbsp Germany 1896 1918 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignGermany 1919 1933 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignGermany 1933 1935 nbsp nbsp Germany 1935 1945 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignEast Germany 1959 1973 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignWest Germany 1949 1990 9 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignGreece 1774 1821 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignGreece 1822 1828 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignGreat Britain 1707 1801 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignHaiti 1964 1986 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignHanover 1816 1837 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignHungary 1921 1946 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignHungary 1950 1957 nbsp National flag nbsp Hong Kong 1959 1997 Unofficial nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignIndia 1880 1947 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignIran 1910 1980 nbsp National flag nbsp Civl ensignIreland 1701 1801 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignIreland 1801 1922 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignItaly 1861 1946 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil EnsignMecklenburg Schwerin 1863 1918 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignMontenegro 1905 1918 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignNewfoundland 1904 1949 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignPrussia 1823 1863 nbsp National flag nbsp Civl ensignSerbia 1835 1882 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignSerbia 1882 1918 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignSerbia 2006 2010 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignSouth Africa 1910 1912 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignSouth Africa 1912 1951 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignSpain 1785 1927 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignSpain 1931 1939 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignVenezuela 1930 2006 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignYugoslavia 1919 1943 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignYugoslavia 1950 1992 nbsp National flag nbsp Civil ensignYugoslavia and later Serbia and Montenegro 1992 2006 See also editCivil and merchant ensigns Civil flag Civil air ensignRemarks edit The Australian national flag is also used for smaller ships The UAE national flag is also reported as civil ensign The plain red ensign is used in Anguilla the British Indian Ocean Territory Montserrat the Pitcairn Islands and Saint Helena The red ensign also the national flag is an appropriate civil ensign for vessels registered on the Bermuda portion of the British Register by virtue of the Bermuda Merchant Shipping Act of 2002 The Moroccan national flag is also reported as civil ensign The circled X is replaced with the club emblem Previously used by West Germany prior to German Reunification in 1990 The square flag is used on most rivers and lakes Since German Reunification flag continues to be used as Germany s national flag amp civil ensign Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Civil ensign amp oldid 1222864238, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
