Editing Ship prefix (section)

=== Prefix conventions ===
The designations for United Kingdom ships applied at the time of the [[British Empire]], before the establishment of separate navies for the Dominions.

In the [[Royal Netherlands Navy]], "[[HNLMS]]" is the prefix in English, a translation of the Dutch original "Hr.Ms." or "Zr.Ms.".  "Hr.Ms." should preferably not be used in English-language documents; nevertheless it is often seen on the [[World Wide Web]]. Until the moment a Dutch naval ship officially enters active service in the fleet, the ship's name is used without the prefix.<ref>Circulaire Zeemacht 1569cc (1988).</ref> Since [[Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands|King Willem-Alexander]] succeeded [[Beatrix of the Netherlands|Queen Beatrix]] on 30 April 2013, "Hr.Ms." is replaced by "Zr.Ms.".

In Australia, the prefix NUSHIP is used to denote ships that have yet to be commissioned into the fleet.<ref>{{cite web |title= What are Ship Prefixes for Naval and Merchant Vessels?
|last = Dasgupta
|first = Soumyajit
|url =http://www.marineinsight.com/marine/marine-news/headline/what-are-ship-prefixes-for-naval-and-merchant-vessels/
|access-date=25 August 2014}}</ref>

In the United States, all prefixes other than "USS", "USNS", "USNV", and "USRC" were made obsolete in 1901, when President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] issued an Executive order fixing American naval nomenclature.{{sfn|Naval History And Heritage Command}} USRC was replaced by USCGC when the [[Revenue Cutter Service]] merged with the [[United States Lifesaving Service]] to become the [[United States Coast Guard]] in 1915.{{sfn|United States Coast Guard Historian's Office}} USLHT also was replaced by USCGC when the [[United States Lighthouse Service]] became a part of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939. USC&GS was replaced by NOAAS when the [[United States Coast and Geodetic Survey]] merged with other U.S. Government scientific agencies to form the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) in 1970. USFC was replaced by USFS when the United States Commission on Fish and Fisheries was reorganized as the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries in 1903, and USFS in turn was replaced in 1940 by US FWS when the Bureau of Fisheries merged with the [[United States Department of the Interior]]'s Division of Biological Survey to form the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service (which in 1956 was reorganized as the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]]). Seagoing ships Fish and Wildlife Service ships with the prefix US FWS that were transferred to NOAA when NOAA was created in 1970 switched to the NOAAS prefix.

A United States Navy ship that is not in active commission does not hold the title of United States Ship with simply the name without prefix used before and after commissioned service.{{sfn|Naval History And Heritage Command}} Vessels, such as yard and harbor craft that are not commissioned and "in service" are officially referred to by name or hull number without prefix.{{sfn|Naval History And Heritage Command}} Prior to commissioning, ships may be described as a [[pre-commissioning unit]] or PCU; for example, [[USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)|USS ''Gerald R. Ford'']] was described as the "pre-commissioning unit (PCU) ''Gerald R. Ford''" prior to her commissioning in 2017.<ref name="NNS PCU CVN-78">{{cite press release |url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=74667 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110141438/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=74667 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 November 2013 |agency=Navy News Service |title=PCU Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Welcomes 60 New Crew Members |id=NNS130606-12 |date=6 June 2013 |access-date=24 July 2016}}</ref>{{sfn|Naval History And Heritage Command}} [[Military Sealift Command]] (MSC) civilian crewed ships "in service" are given the prefix United States Naval Ship (USNS).{{sfn|Naval History And Heritage Command}}

When it is stricken from the fleet list, a ship typically has the prefix "ex-" added to its name, to distinguish it from any active ships bearing the same name. For example, after [[USS Constellation (CV-64)|USS ''Constellation'']] (CV-64) was retired in 2003, she became referred to as ex-''Constellation''.