There is an entire category of nautical vocabulary dedicated to keeping a ship in safe waters, and not aground or on the rocks. Resting upon or touching the sea bottom is referred to as a grounding, which is one of the worst outcomes for a ship, sometimes leaving a vessel high and dry until the tide comes in, or not able to continue at all.

Sailors sleep in a mess, sometimes referred to as a mess deck. A mess is a space filled with bunks, often called racks. The owner of a rack might refer to their happy resting place as their pit, i.e., “I am heading to my pit for the night.”

Badge designs are made to have a connection to the name of the ship, and incorporate heraldic symbology and terminology. For example, colours are described using the heraldic terms gules (red), azure (blue), vert (green), sable (black), purpure (purple), or (gold), and argent (silver or white).

When prayers are held in an HMC ship the church pennant is flown. This flag, also used in all Commonwealth navies and the Royal Netherlands Navy, is a broad pennant consisting of two national flags, the English Flag at the hoist and the Dutch National Flag in the fly.