5 – Five (FIFE)

The standard maritime radiotelephony pronunciation of the digit five.

It is spoken as “FIFE” when transmitting figures clearly by voice. The pronunciation helps prevent the final consonant being lost in noise and is not a special nautical quantity or chart symbol.

The International Code of Signals also has a numeral pennant for five, shown on this page. That pennant is the visual representation of the digit and is distinct from its spoken pronunciation.

Flag

Number Pennant Five (5)

Nautical or signal flags are used at sea to convey long-range messages. 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.