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A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship that has historically served numerous purposes, such as identifying the vessel's mode of propulsion, purpose, or ownership/nationality.
A heavily modified or repurposed ship may receive a new symbol, and either retain the hull number or receive a new one. Also, the system of symbols has changed a number of times since it was introduced in 1907, so ships' symbols sometimes change without anything being done to the physical ship.
When writing about civilian ships, consider omitting common prefixes (e.g. "MS") from the article body, as italicizing the ship's name is often enough to identify it as a ship. Do not use the definite article the before a prefix or when introducing a ship for the first time; e.g., at the beginning of the lead section:
Also ship's magazine. The ammunition storage area aboard a warship. magnetic bearing An absolute bearing using magnetic north. magnetic north The direction towards the North Magnetic Pole. Varies slowly over time. maiden voyage The first voyage of a ship in its intended role, i.e. excluding trial trips. Maierform bow A V-shaped bow introduced in the late 1920s which allowed a ship to maintain ...
If a U.S. Navy ship's hull classification symbol begins with "T-", it is part of the Military Sealift Command, has a primarily civilian crew, and is a United States Naval Ship (USNS) in non-commissioned service – as opposed to a commissioned United States Ship (USS) with an all-military crew.
Ship name – a proper noun chosen at the shipowner's discretion; may change several times during the vessel's lifetime Ship class – a common name for a group of ships with similar design, usually named for the first vessel of the class, e.g. " Nimitz -class aircraft carrier"
SSMG – Ships Service Motor Generator; engine room equipment used to convert electric current from AC to DC or DC to AC; SSN – Hull classification symbol for general-purpose fast attack submarines (Submersible Ship Nuclear) SSOQ – Senior Sailor of the Quarter; SSOY – Senior Sailor of the Year; SSTG – Ships Service Turbine Generator
initialism = an abbreviation pronounced wholly or partly using the names of its constituent letters, e.g., CD = compact disc, pronounced cee dee; pseudo-blend = an abbreviation whose extra or omitted letters mean that it cannot stand as a true acronym, initialism, or portmanteau (a word formed by combining two or more words).