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Courtesy Flags

General Infomation
Courtesy flags in Panama Canal during Cold War era

General Information

I can describe the practice of the US Navy which, broadly speaking is followed by navies around the world.

Flags of nationality (national ensign and jack) are flown as follows.

When the ship is moored or anchored, the Union Jack is flown from the *jackstaff* at the bow of the ship and the National Ensign is flown from the *ensign staff* at the stern of the ship.
When the ship is underway, the National Ensign is flown from the ship's principal mast (for ships with two masts, this is the mainmast).

The US National Ensign is simply the Stars and Stripes. The US jack is called, somewhat confusingly, the Union Jack because it is actually the canton or "union" of the US flag, i.e. a dark blue flag with fifty stars. The US Navy rule is that the Union Jack should be the same size as the canton of the National Ensign with which it is flown.

Generally a courtesy ensign is flown from a ship's mast. When the ship is entering or leaving port and flying its own ensign at the mast, the courtesy ensign is flown at a slightly lower level. (For ships with two or more masts, I believe, the courtesy ensign is flown from the foremast and the ship's own ensign is flown from the mainmast.) When the ship is moored or anchored, the courtesy ensign remains at the mast while the ship's own ensign and jack are flown from their staffs at bow and stern. If the host nation has a distinctive merchant ensign, this is what is used as the courtesy ensign.

No doubt there are many variations on the above rules, but I believe that they are broadly applicable.
tom gregg, 1998-AUG-12 and 1998-AUG-13

Courtesy flags in Panama Canal during Cold War era

At one time I lived in the Canal Zone. This is the area of (then) U.S. territory that surrounds the Panama Canal, (or as Zonians called it "The American Canal in Panama"). This was back in the days when the world was clearly divided into East & West. It was humorous to watch ships come through the canal. Without looking at the ensign you could tell if it was a ship from and Eastern or Western country by the courtesy flag flown. Western countries flew the United States flag as a courtesy, Eastern countries flew the Panamanian.

nathan bliss, 1996-JUN-13