Signal flag Lima

Yellow and black quarters.

Also known as: Lima flag, Code flag Lima

Sometimes confused with: L pennant

Maps & navigationSafety & hazardStandard profile

Meanings

The International Code of Signals flag for the letter Lima, whose single-flag meaning is: You should stop your vessel instantly.

Officially standardisedVerified fact
Flown alone, signals: You should stop your vessel instantly.
Contexts: Public information, Navigation
Historically documentedVerified fact
In harbour it was historically flown to indicate a vessel under quarantine, a use now largely replaced by the Quebec signal and its variants.
Contexts: Public information, Navigation

A rectangular flag quartered yellow and black, the yellow quarters diagonally opposite each other.

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is defined by a current official standard.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references.

IMO Resolution A.1116(30), Escape route signs and equipment location markings
International Maritime Organization · retrieved 2026-08-22
The resolution text is not reproduced here and has NOT BEEN READ in full. Registered so records can state that a life-saving appliance marking is defined by the IMO rather than by convention, and which broad class it belongs to. See docs/paywalled-standards.md.
ITU Radio Regulations and the maritime signalling appendices
International Telecommunication Union · retrieved 2026-08-27
Cited for the identity of maritime and radio signalling conventions defined by the ITU. Not cited for national licensing arrangements.

Last reviewed 2026-08-27

Meanings

The International Code of Signals flag for the letter Lima, whose single-flag meaning is: You should stop your vessel instantly.

Officially standardisedVerified fact

Flown alone, signals: You should stop your vessel instantly.

Historically documentedVerified fact

In harbour it was historically flown to indicate a vessel under quarantine, a use now largely replaced by the Quebec signal and its variants.

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is defined by a current official standard.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references.

Sources

IMO Resolution A.1116(30), Escape route signs and equipment location markings
International Maritime Organization · retrieved 2026-08-22
The resolution text is not reproduced here and has NOT BEEN READ in full. Registered so records can state that a life-saving appliance marking is defined by the IMO rather than by convention, and which broad class it belongs to. See docs/paywalled-standards.md.
ITU Radio Regulations and the maritime signalling appendices
International Telecommunication Union · retrieved 2026-08-27
Cited for the identity of maritime and radio signalling conventions defined by the ITU. Not cited for national licensing arrangements.

Last reviewed 2026-08-27