Page 8: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 2004)

Leading Off

Maritime Meanings

Number (as in "I've got your number")

You don't fool me; I can see through your game; I twig. The emphasis is upon recognition, and the usage derives from the fact that each mer- chant vessel from every maritime nation in the world is allocated, by international agreement, a group of four letters that constitutes her recog- nition signal. This signal is made, when necessary, by hoisting flags in the

International Code of Signals, and it is called, oddly enough, the ship's "num- ber."

Clearly, it was — and still is — impor- tant for a vessel to be able to correctly identify another vessel on the high seas in time of war; indeed, it was a favorite tactic of certain enemy ships to cam- ouflage their outlines, hoist a false number or recognition signal when challenged, and then to attack the unsuspecting victim. To have some- one's number under these circum- stances would be to see through the deception, and to take whatever action was appropriate.

Source: An Ocean of Words: A Dictionary of

Nautical Words and Phrases, by Peter D.

Jeans; Birch Lane Press , 1998

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MARITIME REPORTER

AND

ENGINEERING NEWS celebrates its 65th Anniversary with a special

DOUBLE SIZED

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION in AUGUST 2004.

This edition will herald the evolution of the marine industry over the last six and a half decades, with select snippets and advertisements from editions along the way, as well as an exhaustive editorial analysis of the evolution of several key maritime sectors.

Special advertising opportunites exist.

Contact your sales representative for details or contact MR at: tel: 212 477 6700 or

E-mail: [email protected] 8 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News