Another tradition is to consider ships as female, referring to them as 'she'. Although it may sound strange referring to an inanimate object as 'she', this tradition relates to the idea of a female figure such as a mother or goddess guiding and protecting a ship and crew.
Reportedly, ships have been widely referred to as 'she' since 1375. This can be traced back to the linguistic complexity prevailing in the English language. It has evolved over a multitude of centuries, taking direct influence from a vast array of languages.
"The most common explanation is that [it] has its roots in the Latin name for ships, but the irony is that, in some Latin languages like French, Italian and Spanish ... ships are actually [male]. "Another theory is that ships are named for female entities but many ... were clearly named for men.
Ships are referred to as "she" because men love them, but this encompasses far more than just that. Man-o'-war or merchantman, there can be a great deal of bustle about her as well as a gang of men on deck, particularly if she is slim-waisted, well-stacked, and has an inviting superstructure.
Ships are called 'she' because they protect and nurture like mothers, says admiral. Adm. Alan West is critical of the news that the Scottish Maritime Museum will exclusively refer to ships as "it" going forward.
Types of Ships
And in military terms, many ships are also masculine. A modern aircraft carrier will usually be named after a military man. In fact, this has been a part of naval history for years now. The tradition is well documented.
Cabin boys helped the cook in the galley and carried meals to the seamen in the mess deck (where the crew ate their meals) and to the officers in their quarters aft. On big ships, they carried messages back and forth between officers and the rest of the crew, who occupied different parts of the ship.
Shipbuilders of the early years of shipping would use a copper coating as a biocide, to prevent organotins from sticking on the vessel's hull. That copper coating was responsible for the ship's red color. In the 21st century, it is more than obvious that antifouling coatings can be mixed with any color.
The prefix “USS,” meaning “United States Ship,” is used in official documents to identify a commissioned ship of the Navy. It applies to a ship while she is in commission.
SAILOR – When capitalized "Sailor" is used to demote a Navy service member – from Seaman to Admiral.
MS is short for “merchant ship,” or sometimes for “motor ship.” It's identical to the MV prefix.
“Captainess.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/captainess.
The Pesse canoe is the world's oldest known ship, dating between 8040 and 7510 BC.
The first to be built was the Australia launched on 21 May 1950, departing Trieste on 19 April 1951 and arriving in Melbourne on 17 May. The second ship Oceania launched on 30 July 1950, departed Genoa for its maiden voyage on 18 August 1951.
Last Updated: Article History. Table of Contents. WAVES, acronym of Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, military unit, established on July 30, 1942, as the U.S. Navy's corps of female members.
Ships are frequently or even usually female, but not always. In particular, in the Second World War the German battleship Bismarck, and another ship built to the same specifications, were regarded as being so magnificent that they were described using male terms.
SS often stood for "steamship," as steam what made these vessels operate. It was also a clear indicator that a boat differed from the slower performing means of propulsion, such as sailing and rowing power.
What do the ship prefixes tell us? Ship prefixes used on merchant vessels mainly point out the propulsion technique employed in the ship, such as the abbreviation “SS”, which means “steamship”, indicating that the ship runs on steam propulsion.
model builder Bruce MacRae and co-builder of the SS Vico studio model, has postulated the "SS" prefix to stand for "Survey Ship", a designation that actually fitted the "job description" of most such endowed vessels featured in the Star Trek live-action productions. [ 1]
The gray paint is a very effective means to keep a warship from being spotted in a wide variety of situations. Gray in some shade is the best color to blend in with the haze and prevent easy visual spotting and identification.
Blue is only useful in blue sea. Seas are often gray, and the horizon is usually gray. Many people believe that's irrelevant, because targeting systems and weapons are radar-based.
Why Do Military Ships Tend to be Grey? Grey is the universal colour for combatant and auxiliary surface ships, and it serves a crucial purpose of keeping warships hidden from view. Grey is a neutral color that blends well with the ocean, making it harder for enemy vessels to spot the ship from a distance.
If a ship is sinking, maritime tradition dictates that the captain ensures the safe evacuation of every passenger before he evacuates himself. He (or she) is responsible for the lives of those onboard, and he can't coordinate their exit unless he's the last person off.
Most modern ports that cruise ships dock at will not have major rodent problems but historically, pier areas around the world were a haven for rodents due to crates of food, packing materials, and other items that both offered excellent homes as well as food to rats, mice and other rodents.
Boys (under-18s) were flogged on the bare buttocks. For adult men it was normally applied to the bare upper back, but sometimes a sailor seen to have misbehaved in a particularly childish manner, or who was "too big for his boots", would be ordered to be "punished as a boy".