Signal flag Yankee

Diagonal yellow and red stripes.

Also known as: Yankee flag, Code flag Yankee

Sometimes confused with: Y pennant

Maps & navigationSafety & hazardStandard profile

Meanings

The International Code of Signals flag for the letter Yankee, whose single-flag meaning is: I am dragging my anchor.

Officially standardisedVerified fact
Flown alone, signals: I am dragging my anchor.
Contexts: Public information, Navigation
Historically documentedVerified fact
Signals a vessel that believes itself anchored but is moving, which is a hazard to everything anchored near it.
Contexts: Public information, Navigation

A rectangular flag of diagonal stripes alternating yellow and red, running from the upper hoist to the lower fly.

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 Yankee, whose single-flag meaning is: I am dragging my anchor.

Officially standardisedVerified fact

Flown alone, signals: I am dragging my anchor.

Historically documentedVerified fact

Signals a vessel that believes itself anchored but is moving, which is a hazard to everything anchored near it.

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