Prefix for ships that carry mail under contract by the British Royal Mail
RMS "Crown" as displayed by the Cunard liner LaconiaRoyal Mail steamship routes
Royal Mail Ship (sometimes Steam-ship or Steamer), usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. The designation dates back to 1840.[1] Any vessel designated as "RMS" has the right both to fly the pennant of the Royal Mail when sailing and to include the Royal Mail "crown" insignia with any identifying device and/or design for the ship.[2][3][4]
It was used by many shipping lines, but is often associated in particular with the White Star Line, Cunard Line,[2][5] Royal Mail Lines, Union-Castle Line, Canadian Pacific Line, Orient Line and the P&OSNC, which held a number of high-profile mail contracts, and traditionally prefixed the names of many of their ships with the initials "RMS".
While some lines in the past, particularly the Royal Mail Lines, called all their ships "RMS", technically a ship would use the prefix only while contracted to carry mail, and would revert at other times to a standard designation such as "SS".[6][7]
^The first citation in The Times is from 18 August 1840.
^ abRoyal Mails employees Courier newspaper page 20 August 2007
^QM2 Archived 13 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
^"United Kingdom – Royal Mail". Flags of The World. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
^Maxtone-Graham, John et al. (2004). Queen Mary 2, p. 184.
^By Wireless from R.M.S. Empress of Australia. "Royal Gifts Gladden 172 On Lonely Atlantic Island" (Tristan da Cunya)," The New York Times. 24 March 1935; Robinson, Samuel. (1924).
^Official report of Capt. S. Robinson, R.N.R.,: Commander of the Canadian Pacific S.S. "Empress of Australia", on the Japanese earthquake, the fire and subsequent relief operations.
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