Flag E (Echo)
ICS · E code word: Echo pronounced: ECK-OH Morse: ·
In short: I am altering my course to starboard.
Single-letter meaning (Pub 102)
I am altering my course to starboard.
In plain English
Information about a turn to starboard: the ship is altering her course to the right.
Where you will really see it
The same sense as one short blast on the whistle under the steering and sailing rules (COLREGs): I am altering my course to starboard. Signal E is also used in icebreaker communications during an ice passage.
Common mix-up
The pair E and I gets mixed up: E is a turn to starboard, I is a turn to port.
Careful with sound
Signal E belongs to the group marked with an asterisk in the code: when made by SOUND it may only be made in compliance with the collision regulations (COLREGs). By flag or light there is no such restriction.
Related flags
Keep going
- All signal flags: the search box and the full grid.
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- Single-letter signals cheat sheet A to Z on one page.
The single-letter meanings are quoted 1:1 from Pub 102 International Code of Signals (NGA, public domain); the plain-English explanations are our own. Flag graphics: signal-flag-images (Unlicense).