1 May 2002
Some things never change and some things just seem like they never do. One of those things was using the feminine pronoun when referring to a ship.
But Lloyd’s List, the daily newspaper of the shipping industry, announced on 22 March that it is abandoning the practice. From now on the publication will refer to ships as it.
Lloyd’s List tried to make the change four years ago, but reversed itself in the face of the overwhelming ire of naval traditionalists.
Ships have been referred to as she in English since at least 1375, and Lloyd’s List has been doing it since its founding in 1734.
But traditionalists need not abandon all hope. The Royal Navy still plans to call its ships she.
