Red Ensign of Singapore
Encyclopedia
Civil ensign
The civil ensign is the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality...
used by privately-owned, non-military ships that are registered in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. The overall design of the ensign is a modification of the national flag
Flag of Singapore
The national flag of Singapore was first adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. It was reconfirmed as the national flag when the Republic gained independence on 9 August 1965...
, with the ratio of the width to the length extended to 1:2. The ensign was created by law in 1966. The use of this ensign is regulated by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Singapore Government.-History:The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore was established on 2 February 1996 by the MPA Act of...
(MPA). According to the MPA, the Red Ensign is the only ensign to be used on Singaporean civilian ships, and the national flag is not an acceptable substitute. The ensign must be hoisted on all Singaporean ships on entering or leaving port.
History
In 1966, a year after Singapore's independence from MalaysiaSingapore in Malaysia
On 16 September 1963, which was also Lee Kuan Yew's 40th birthday, Singapore merged with the Federation of Malaya alongside Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia...
, a document entitled Singapore Merchant Marine Ensign and numbered Misc. 5 of 1966, was laid before Parliament
Parliament of Singapore
The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore. Parliament is unicameral and is made up of Members of Parliament who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament and Nominated Members of Parliament who are appointed...
on 6 September 1966 by the Deputy Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Singapore
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...
. The document created a civil ensign that was to be used on ships registered in Singapore. The Red Ensign has been in use since then.
Design
According to the Parliamentary paper Misc. 5 of 1966, the background of the ensign is red with the ratio of its width to its length being one by two. In contrast, the ratio of the national flag of Singapore is two by three. In the centre of the ensign is a white ring, which surrounds a crescentCrescent
In art and symbolism, a crescent is generally the shape produced when a circular disk has a segment of another circle removed from its edge, so that what remains is a shape enclosed by two circular arcs of different diameters which intersect at two points .In astronomy, a crescent...
and five stars also coloured white. The five stars are arranged such that they form a pentagon
Pentagon
In geometry, a pentagon is any five-sided polygon. A pentagon may be simple or self-intersecting. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagram is an example of a self-intersecting pentagon.- Regular pentagons :In a regular pentagon, all sides are equal in length and...
in the middle. The crescent and stars are taken from the national flag, although in the ensign the crescent appears underneath rather than to the left of the stars. According to a 1999 circular National Colours for Singapore Ships issued by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Singapore Government.-History:The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore was established on 2 February 1996 by the MPA Act of...
(MPA), the red colour of the civil ensign is the same as that of the national flag. The shade of red has been defined by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts is a ministry of the Government of Singapore...
as Pantone
Pantone
Pantone Inc. is a corporation headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey, USA. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System , a proprietary color space...
032.
Construction sheet
The MPA's 1999 circular includes a construction sheet with detailed dimensions for the manufacture of the flag. The sheet is in inches and centimetres. The overall dimensions of the flag are 36 inches (91.44 cm) by 72 inches (182.88 cm). The space between the top of the ensign to the top of the ring, and the bottom of the ring to the bottom of the ensign, is 9.7 inches (24.64 cm). The outer diameterDiameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
of the ring is 16.6 inches (42.16 cm), and the ring itself is 0.95 inches (2.41 cm) in thickness. The outer curve of the crescent has a radius
Radius
In classical geometry, a radius of a circle or sphere is any line segment from its center to its perimeter. By extension, the radius of a circle or sphere is the length of any such segment, which is half the diameter. If the object does not have an obvious center, the term may refer to its...
of 5.45 inches (13.84 cm). Each star fits within a circle with a diameter of 3.2 inches (8.13 cm), and the centres of the five stars are positioned 72°
Degree (angle)
A degree , usually denoted by ° , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1⁄360 of a full rotation; one degree is equivalent to π/180 radians...
from each other along the circumference
Circumference
The circumference is the distance around a closed curve. Circumference is a special perimeter.-Circumference of a circle:The circumference of a circle is the length around it....
of an imaginary circle with a radius of 3.25 inches (8.26 cm). The centre of the imaginary circle is 6.4 inches (16.26 cm) from the lowest point of the inner curve of the crescent.
Regulations
Section 36(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act of 1995 empowers the relevant MinisterMinister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
to prescribe an ensign for Singaporean ships, which shall then be the "proper colours for a Singapore ship." Section 36(2) goes on to state that the master of a ship
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
, the ship's owner
Ship-owner
A shipowner is the owner of a merchant vessel . In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, usually for delivering cargo at a certain freight rate, either as a per freight rate or based on hire...
if he is on board, and any other person hoisting colours may be fined up to S$
Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
1,000 if, instead of the Red Ensign, any other "distinctive national colours" are hoisted on board any Singapore ship without the Minister's consent. Under section 37 of the Act, if a Singapore ship fails to hoist the Red Ensign on entering or leaving any port, the ship master may be fined up to $1,000.
The MPA's 1999 circular calls the attention of owners, masters and officers of Singapore ships to sections 36 and 37 of the Merchant Shipping Act. In particular, paragraph 3 of the circular points out that "the Singapore national flag does not [substitute] the Red Ensign".