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Marine Abbreviations of ship types

Below are marine Abbreviations of ship types you may encounter;

  • S/M – SubMarine SB – Small Boat
  • SC – Submarine Chaser
  • SD – Submarine Dutch
  • SES – Surface Effect Ship
  • SFS – Surface-Effect Fast Sealift Ship
  • SGB – Steam GunBoat
  • SOB – Single Outboard Boat
  • SOTL – Ship Of The Line
  • SP – Shore Patrol vessel
  • SS – Fleet Submarine
  • SSB – Ballistic Missile Submarine, Conventional Powered
  • SSBN – Ballistic Missile Nuclear Submarine
  • SSG – Guided Missile Submarine Conventional Powered
  • SSGN – Guided Missile Submarine, Nuclear Powered
  • YGB – Yard Icebreaker (Yardcraft, General, ice Breaker)
  • YGN – Yard Craft, Garbage Lighter
  • YN – Yardcraft Netlayer
  • YNG – Yardcraft Net Gate
  • YNS – Yllennocian Naval Ship
  • YO – Yard Oiler
  • YP – Yard Patrol boat
  • YR – Yard Repair
  • YSP – Yard Salvage Pontoon
  • YT – Yard Tug
  • YTB – Yard Tug Big
  • YTL – Yard Tug Small
  • YTM – Yard Tug, Medium
  • YTT – Yardcraft Torpedo Testing barge
  • YW – Yardcraft Water barge
  • LST – Landing Ship Tank
  • LST – Large Slow Target
  • LSU – Landing Ship Utility
  • LSV – Landing Ship Vehicle
  • LV – Landing Vehicle
  • LVA – Landing Vehicle Assault
  • LVT – Landing Vehicle Tracked
  • LVW – Landing Vehicle, Wheeled
  • LWT – Warping Tug (Landing, Warping, Tug)
  • M/S – Motor Ship
  • MCM – Mine Counter-Measures ship (Minesweeper)
  • MCMV – Mine Counter-Measures Vessel
  • MCS – Mine Countermeasures Ship
  • MFV – Motor Fishing Vessel
  • MHA – MineHunter Auxiliary
  • MM – Minelayer (Minecraft, Minelayer)
  • MMC – Coastal Minelayer (Minecraft, Minelayer, Coastal)
  • MMD – Destroyer Minelayer (Minecraft, Minelayer, Destroyer)
  • MMF – Fleet Minelayer (Minecraft, Minelayer, Fleet)
  • MOW – Man-O-War MS MineSweeper
  • MSA – MineSweeper Auxiliary
  • MSB – MineSweeping Boat
  • MSC – MineSweeper Coastal
  • MSCO – MineSweeper Coastal Old
  • MSD – MineSweeping Drone
  • MSF – Fleet Minesweeper (MineSweeper, Fleet)
  • MSI – MineSweeper, In-shore
  • MSL – MineSweeping Launch
  • MSM – MineSweeper
  • MSSB – Mine-Sweeping Shrimp Boat
  • MTB – Motor Torpedo Boat
  • N/S – Nuclear Ship
  • NMS – New Medical Ship
  • NSSN – New Nuclear-powered Attack Submarine
  • OBB – Old Battleship
  • OC – Outrigger Canoe
  • OM – Open Motorboat
  • OSV – Offshore Supply Vessel
  • PACV – Patrol Air Cushion Vehicle
  • PB – Patrol Boat
  • PBR – River Patrol Boat
  • PC – Patrol Craft
  • PCE – Patrol Craft Escort
  • PCER – Patrol Craft Escort Rescue
  • PCF – Patrol Craft Fast
  • PCG – Patrol Craft Guided Missile
  • PCH – Patrol Craft Hydrofoil
  • PCM – Patrol Craft Missile
  • PCS – Patrol Craft anti-Submarine
  • PF – Patrol Frigate
  • PG – Patrol Gunboat
  • PGG – Guided-missile Gunboat
  • PGH – Patrol Gunboat Hydrofoil
  • PHM – Patrol Hydrofoil Missile
  • PR – River Gunboat
  • PSV – Platform Supply Vessel
  • PT – Torpedo Boat
  • PTF – Fast Torpedo Boat
  • PTGB – Torpedo GunBoat
  • RHIB – Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat
  • RIBL – Rigid Inflatable Boat Light
  • RIBM – Rigid Inflatable Boat Medium
  • RIBS – Rigid-hulled Inflatable Boat Small
  • RMS – Royal Mail Steamship
  • RPL – Ramped Powered Lighter
  • SSK – Hunter- Killer Submarine
  • SSN – Submarine Submarine Nuclear
  • SSP – Submarine Submarine Personnel
  • SSS – Strategic Sealift Ship
  • SST – Training Submarine
  • SSV – Aircraft Carrying Submarine (Submarine Submarine, heaVier than air aircraft)
  • SSX – Next Generation Submarine
  • SV – Sailing Vessel
  • SWATH – Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull
  • TB – Torpedo Boat
  • TCD – Transport de Chaland de Debarquement
  • TS – Training Ship
  • TVB – Torpedo Volg Boot (Torpedo following boat)
  • ULCC – Ultra Large Crude Carrier
  • USAT – United States Army Transport
  • USCGD – United States Coast Guard Destroyer
  • USLT – United States Lighthouse Tender
  • USNT – United States Naval Transport
  • USS – United States Ship
  • VLCC – Very Large Crude Carrier
  • VPB – Vietnamese Patrol Boat
  • WAGC – Coast Guard Amphibious Command Ship
  • WDE – United States Coast Guard Destroyer Escort
  • WIX – Coast Guard Unclassified
  • WLB – Seagoing Buoy Tender WLB-401 Sassafras class Coast Guard Cutter Buoy Tender
  • WLBB – Lake IceBreaker Coast Guard (Coast Guard, Large Buoy Breaker)
  • WLBR – Seagoing Buoy Tender Replacement Vessel
  • WLI – Inland Buoy Tender
  • WLIC – Inland Construction Buoy Tender
  • WLM – Coastal Buoy Tender
  • WLMR – Coastal Buoy Tender Replacement Vessel
  • WLR – River Buoy Tender
  • WPG – Coast Guard Patrol Gunboat
  • WSES – Coast Guard Surface Effect Ship
  • YB – Boom vessel
  • YC – Open Car Lighter (Yardcraft, Car lighter)
  • YCF – Car Float (Yardcraft, Car Float)
  • YCU – Yard Craft Utility
  • YD – Floating Crane (Yardcraft, Derrick)
  • YDG – Garbage Scow (Yardcraft, Disposal, Garbage)
  • YDT – Diving Tender (Yardcraft, Diving Tender)
  • YF – Yardcraft, Ferryboat (Self-Propelled)
  • YFD – Yardcraft Floating Drydock
  • YFN – Yardcraft Covered Lighter (Non-Self Propelled)
  • YFNX – Yardcraft, Lighter (Special-Purpose)
  • YFR – Yardcraft Refrigerated Covered Lighter ( Self-Propelled)
  • YFRN Yardcraft Refrigerated Covered Lighter ( Non-Self-Propelled)
  • YG Yardcraft Garbage Lighter (Self-Propelled)
  • AGTR – Technical Re Ship
  • AH – Hospital Ship
  • AHTS – Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessel
  • AKA – Attack Cargo Ship
  • AKD – Dock Cargo Ship
  • AKL – Light Cargo Ship
  • AKR – Roll-on/Roll-off Cargo Ship
  • AKV – Aircraft Ferry
  • AM – Minelayer
  • AMC – Coastal Minesweeper
  • AMC – Armed Merchant Cruiser
  • AMS – Minesweeper
  • ANL – Netlayer ship
  • APB – Barracks ship
  • APC – Coastal Transport
  • APD – Auxiliary Personnel Destroyer
  • APH – Hospital Transport
  • APS – Afloat Pre-positioning Ship
  • AR – Repair ship
  • CVN – Nuclear-powered Aircraft Carrier ( vessel nuclear carrier)
  • CVS – Anti-Submarine Aircraft Carrier (Cruiser, heaVier-than-air, anti-Submarine)
  • CVX – Next Generation Aircraft Carrier
  • CZ – Lighter-than-air Aircraft Carrier
  • DD Destroyer
  • DDE – Escort Destroyer
  • DDG – Guided-Missile Destroyer
  • DDH – Helicopter-carrying Destroyer (Destroyer Helicopter carrier)
  • DDK – Hunter-Killer Destroyer
  • DDR – Radar Picket Destroyer
  • DDX – Destroyer next generation
  • DE – Destroyer Escort
  • DEG – Destroyer Escort Guided-missile
  • DER – Destroyer Escort Radar Picket
  • DFL – Destroyer Flotilla Leader
  • DL – Destroyer Leader
  • DLG – Destroyer Leader Guided missile
  • DM – Destroyer Minelayer
  • DMS – Destroyer Minesweeper
  • AGF – Amphibious Force Command Ship
  • AGI – Intellligence Collector ship
  • AGM – Missile Range Instrumentation ship
  • AGOS – Ocean Surveillance ship
  • AGP – Motor Torpedo Boat Tender
  • AGR – Radar Picket Ship
  • AGRM – Major Communications Relay Ship
  • AGS Survey Ship
  • ERRV – Emergency Rescue and Recovery Vessel
  • FCB – Ferro-Concrete Barge
  • FDS – Field Development Ship
  • FF – Frigate
  • FFG – Guided-Missile Frigate
  • FFH – Fast Frigate Helicopter
  • FRB – Fast Rescue Boat
  • FSS – Fast Sealift Ship
  • GGG – Galleon GAL Galleon
  • GOD – Gallery Of Death
  • HIN – Hull Identification Number
  • HQS – HeadQuarters Ship
  • IBS – Inflatable Boat Small
  • IBS – Itty Bitty Ship
  • AALC – Amphibious Assault Landing Craft
  • AB – Crane Ship
  • ABSD – Advanced Base Sectional Dock AC Collier
  • ACR – Armored Cruiser
  • ACS – Auxiliary Crane Ship
  • AD – Destroyer Tender
  • ADG – De-gaussing ship
  • ADS – Air Defence Ship
  • AE – Ammunition ship
  • AF – Stores Ship
  • AFDB – Floating Drydock Large
  • AFDL – Floating Drydock Small
  • AFDM – Floating Drydock Medium
  • AFS – Combat Stores Ship
  • AG – General Auxiliary
  • AGB – Icebreaker
  • AGC – Command Ship
  • AGDE – Destroyer Escort Research ship
  • AGEH – Hydrofoil Research Ship
  • AGER – Environmental Research Ship

Have more marine Abbreviations ? Drop them on the comment box below and don’t forget to subscribe for more articles.

1 thought on “Marine Abbreviations of ship types”

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