Ship Prefix

A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship. Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often used inconsistently, and frequently not at all. Sometimes a slash is used to separate the letters, as in "M/S". Naval prefixes came into use as abbreviations for longer titles, such as "His/Her Majesty's Ship" in the Royal Navy, abbreviated "H.M.S" and then "HMS". Earlier uses often included the type of vessel, as for instance "U.S.F." ("United States Frigate") for frigates of the United States Navy. Today the common practice is to use a single prefix for all warships of a nation's navy, and other prefixes for auxiliaries and ships of allied services, such as coast guards. The use of ship prefixes is not universal; in particular neither the Third Reich's Kriegsmarine nor the Imperial Japanese Navy used ship prefixes. Some English-language writers use prefixes like "DKM" (for "Deutsche Kriegsmarine") and "HIJMS" (for "His Imperial Japanese Majesty's Ship") or "IJN" (for "Imperial Japanese Navy", a translation of 大日本帝国海軍 dai-nippon teikoku kaigun) for consistency with "HMS" and "USS". Other writers follow the practice of the navy and omit any prefix. From the 20th century onwards, most navies identify ships by hull numbers — identification codes typically painted on the side of the ship. Each navy has its own system: the United States Navy uses hull classification symbols, and the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth use pennant numbers.

Table of ship prefixes

This table lists both current and historical prefixes known to have been used.
align=left|   Country align=left|   Service align=left width=120|   Prefix align=left|   Meaning
eneric all DSV Deep Submergence Vessel
eneric all MS Motor Ship
eneric all MSY Motor Sailing Yacht
eneric all MT Motor Tanker
eneric all MV Motor Vessel
eneric all NS Nuclear Ship
eneric all PS Paddle Steamer
eneric all RV Research Vessel
eneric all SS Steam Ship
eneric all SV Sailing Vessel
eneric all TS Turbine Steamer
rgentina Argentine Navy ARA Armada de la Republica Argentina
ustralia Royal Australian Navy HMAS His/Her Majesty's Australian Ship
ahamas Bahamian Defense Force HMBS His/Her Majesty's Bahamian Ship
angladesh Bangladesh Navy BNS Bangladesh Naval Ship
arbados Barbadan Defence Force HMBS His/Her Majesty's Barbadian Ship
elgium Belgian Navy BNS Belgium Naval Ship (NATO prefix)
anada Canadian Forces Maritime Command HMCS His/Her Majesty's Canadian Ship
anada Canadian Coast Guard CCGS Canadian Coast Guard Ship
anada Canadian Coast Guard CCGC Canadian Coast Guard Cutter
olombia Armada Nacional ARC Armada de la Republica de Colombia
onfederate States of America Confederate States Navy CSS Confederate States Ship
enmark Royal Danish Navy HDMS (Danish: KDM) His/Her Danish Majesty's Ship (Danish: Kongelige Danske Marine)
cuador ?? BAE Buque de la Armada de Ecuador
iji ?? RFNS Republic of Fiji Naval Ship
inland Finnish Navy FNS Finnish Navy Ship
rance French Navy FS French Ship (NATO designation); France does not use prefixes internally
erman Empire Kaiserliche Marine SM U-## Seiner Majestät Unterseeboot
erman Empire Kaiserliche Marine SMS Seiner Majestt Schiff
ermany (Third Reich) Kriegsmarine — (no prefix; some authors use "DKM" for "Deutsche Kriegsmarine")
ermany Bundesmarine FGS Federal German Ship (NATO designation)
reece Hellenic Navy HS Hellenic Ship (NATO designation)
uyana ?? GDFS Guyanan Defense Forces Ship
ndia Indian Navy (pre-Republic) HMIS His/Her Majesty's Indian Ship
ndia Indian Navy INS Indian Naval Ship
reland Irish Naval Service LE Long ireannach — Irish ship
srael Israeli Navy INS Israeli Naval Ship
taly, Kingdom (until 1946) Regia Marina RN Regia Nave -- Royal Ship
taly, Kingdom (until 1946) Regia Marina RS Reale Sottomarino -- Royal Submarine
taly, Republic (since 1946) Marina Militare NMM Nave Marina Militare -- Navy Ship
apan Imperial Japanese Navy — (no prefix; some authors use "HIJMS" for "His Imperial Japanese Majesty's Ship")
apan (after WWII) Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force JDS JMSDF Defense Ship
enya ? KNS Kenyan Naval Ship
alaysia Royal Malaysian Navy KD Kapal Di-Raja — Royal Ship
etherlands Royal Netherlands Navy HNLMS (Dutch: Hr.Ms. or Zr.Ms.) His/Her Netherlands Majesty's Ship (Dutch: Harer Majesteits or Zijner Majesteits)
ew Zealand Royal New Zealand Navy HMNZS His/Her Majesty's New Zealand Ship
igeria ? NNS Nigerian Naval Ship
orway Royal Norwegian Navy HNoMS (Norwegian: KNM) His Norwegian Majesty's Ship (Norwegian: Kongelige Norske Marine)
orway Norwegian Coast Guard KV Kystvakt
man ? SNV Sultanate Naval Vessel
akistan Pakistani Navy PNS Pakistani Naval Ship
apua New Guinea ? HMPNGS His/Her Majesty's Papua New Guinea Ship
eru Peruvian Navy BAP Buque Armada Peruana
hilippines Philippine Navy BRP Barka ng Republika ng Pilipinas
oland Polish Navy ORP Polish Republic Naval Ship
(Polish: Okręt Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej)
ortugal Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa NRP Portuguese Republic Ship (Navio da Repblica Portuguesa)
audi Arabia Saudi Navy HMS His Majesty's Ship — the same as the Royal Navy
ingapore Republic of Singapore Navy RSS Republic of Singapore Ship
outh Africa South African Navy SAS South African Ship
pain Armada Espanola SPS Spanish Naval Ship
ri Lanka Sri Lanka Navy SLNS Sri Lanka Naval Ship
weden Royal Swedish Navy HMS His/Her Majesty's Ship — the same as the Royal Navy
hailand Royal Thai Navy HTMS His Thai Majesty's Ship
urkey Turkish Navy TCG Trkiye Cumhuriyeti Gemisi
rinidad & Tobago ? TTS Trinidad & Tobago Ship
nited Kingdom Ships carrying mail RMS Royal Mail Steamer
nited Kingdom Royal Fleet Auxiliary RFA Royal Fleet Auxiliary
nited Kingdom Hospital ships HMHS His/Her Majesty's Hospital Ship
nited Kingdom Royal Navy HMS His/Her Majesty's Ship/Submarine
nited Kingdom British Army HMAV His/Her Majesty's Army Vessel (not currently in use)
nited Kingdom Royal Air Force HMAFV His/Her Majesty's Air Force Vessel (not currently in use)
nited Kingdom Royal Navy HMY His/Her Majesty's Yacht (not currently in use)
nited Kingdom Royal Navy HBMS His/Her Britannic Majesty's Ship (archaic)
nited Kingdom Royal Navy HMT His/Her Majesty's Tug or Troopship
nited Kingdom Government research ships RRS Royal Research Ship
nited States U.S. Army USAV United States Army Vessel
nited States (obsolete) U.S. Navy USF United States Frigate
nited States (obsolete) U.S. Navy USFS United States Flagship
nited States U.S. Navy USS United States Ship
nited States U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command USNS United States Naval Ship
nited States U.S. Coast Guard USCGC United States Coast Guard Cutter
ruguay Uruguay Navy ROU Republica Oriental del Uruguay
enezuela Venezuelan Navy ARV Armada Republica Venezolana
In the Royal Netherlands Navy, "HNLMS" is the prefix in English, a translation of the Dutch original "Hr.Ms." or "Zr.Ms.". "Hr.Ms." should preferably not be used English-language documents; nevertheless it is often seen on the World Wide Web. Until the moment a Dutch naval ship officially enters active service in the fleet, the ship's name is used without the prefix. In the United States Navy, all prefixes other than "USS," "USNS" and "USCGC" were obsoleted in 1901 when President Theodore Roosevelt signed into law a bill fixing American naval nomenclature. A United States ship that has not yet been commissioned in the Navy does not hold the title of USS, it holds the title of PCU (Pre-commissioned unit) For example, say a shipyard is building a new aircraft carrier:—the Neversail. From the date the keel is laid to the date it is commissioned, it is called the PCU Neversail. Only after it enters active service in the fleet and is commissioned will it be referred to as the USS Neversail. In Australia, the prefix NUSHIP is used to denote ships that have yet to be commissioned into the fleet. Note that while calling a US ship "the USS Neversail" may make grammatical sense, the preliminary article "the" is deprecated by nearly all style guides. Its British equivalent ("the HMS Neversail") is also deprecated, since "the Her Majesty's Ship" would be grammatically incorrect. See also the WikiProject Ships.

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