Papa

Phonetic alphabet letter P.

Departure Signal: When a vessel displays the Papa flag, it signals to all personnel ashore that they should return to the vessel because it is preparing to depart from port and proceed to sea.

Coordination: This flag is used to ensure that all crew members, passengers, and other personnel are on board and accounted for before the vessel leaves port.

Flag

Code Flag Papa (P)

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.