Hotel

Phonetic alphabet letter H.

In marine terminology, the “Hotel” flag from the International Code of Signals has specific meanings:

“I have a pilot on board”: This is the primary meaning of the Hotel flag. It signals that the vessel has a maritime pilot on board, which is a specialist responsible for navigating ships through challenging areas such as harbors, river mouths, or other confined waterways.

Helicopter Operations: The Hotel flag can also indicate that a vessel is conducting helicopter operations, signaling other vessels to keep clear and exercise caution.

Flag

Code Flag Hotel (H)

Nautical or signal flags are used at sea to convey messages over long distances. Only black, blue, red, white and yellow are used because these are the only colours readily distinguished at sea. Many different coding schemes have been used, but the International Code is the most common.