Civil ensign

A civil ensign is kind of like a special flag that ships use to show which country they belong to when they are traveling in international waters. Just like how people use flags to represent their countries in the Olympics or other competitions, ships use flags to show where they came from.

This special flag is usually different from the country's regular flag and is specifically designed for use on ships. It typically has the country's colors and symbols on it, but sometimes it may look a little bit different depending on the country.

When a ship is in international waters, it isn't technically "owned" by any one country. This means that it can be tricky to figure out where the ship is from or who is responsible for it. The civil ensign helps to clear up this confusion by telling other ships and countries which country the ship belongs to.

So, imagine you are playing a game with your friends and each of you has a different colored flag. If you wave your flag, everyone else will know which team you are on. The civil ensign is kind of like that, but for ships!