The UK has three flags for marine use - none of which are the national flag. Do any other nations do this, and prohibit the use of the national flag?

author

Several countries have separate flags for naval use, this includes UK, Italy, Russia, South Africa, New Zealand, Japan. Marine flags can have sevaral uses: * A civil ensign (usage symbol ) is worn by merchant and pleasure vessels. * A state ensign or government ensign (usage symbol () is worn by non-military government vessels, such as coast guard ships. * A naval ensign (usage symbol () is used by a country's navy. Many countries don't distinguish between these uses, and employ their standard national flag in all three contexts; such a multiuse flag is termed a national ensign. Others (like the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Japan) use a variant of the national flag as the naval ensign. (Such flags are often strictly regulated as usable only on warships; civilian ships, with very few exceptions, would not fly naval ensigns.) Distinct civil ensigns are also common. In rare cases a distinct design is used for the state ensign, such as the blue ensign of the United Kingdom. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensign Sep 06 08, 2:34 PM

Baloo55th

Is the use of the national flag actually forbidden for non-naval vessels in any of those countries? Sep 06 08, 3:06 PM

zbeckabee

The flag that indicates nationality on a ship is called ensign. In some countries, such as the United States and Canada, the national ensign is identical to the national flag, while in others, such as the United Kingdom and Japan, there are specific ensigns 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. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_flag#National_ensigns_at_sea Some countries prohibit the display of their national flag on its civilian and merchant vessels by statute. Instead, a civil ensign is flown which usually shows the national flag in the upper hoist (the uppermost corner nearest the mast, sometimes called the canton), and a plain, coloured background. For example, civil and merchant vessels in Great Britain may not fly the Royal Union Flag of Great Britain. Instead, they must fly the official civil or merchant ensign, which is a blue ensign showing the Royal Union Flag in the upper hoist. By contrast, Royal Navy vessels fly the white ensign, which is the St George's cross (red cross on a white background) with the Royal Union Flag in the upper hoist. http://everything2.com/node/602479 Sep 06 08, 4:34 PM