Last modified: 2003-08-16 by dov gutterman
Keywords: colombia | custom | ensign |
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(2:3) 
by Zeljko Heimer, 17 May 2001 (According to [pay00])
The flag used by civil ships is yellow, blue, red 2:1:1, with
a red bordered blue oval with white eight pointed star in the
middle.
Zeljko Heimer, 8 December 1995
According to [pay00] - Civil
Ensign (---/C-- (2:3)) - National flag with the blue oval
bordered red with eight-pointed white star in the middle. This
same flag is hoisted also on diplomatic missions abroad. Surely,
this practice is due to avoid confusion with Ecuatorean missions.
Also, this flag is not to be confused with the Diplomatic and Consular Flag which is the
honourary flag hoisted on ships only to signify that a high
diplomatic officer is aboard. Compering to the legislation -
Civil ensign shown in Album is having to large the cental emblem.
Zeljko Heimer, 16 May 2001
Article 2 - the merchant ensign of Colombia is as it was
established in the decree number 309 of 1980 (sic! maybe 1890?),
three meters long and two meters wide, defaced in the middle with
an oval shield of blue field encircled with a zone of red
(velvet?) five centimeters wide and with a white eight-pointed
star in the center, ten centimeters in diameter. The axes of the
oval, within the blue filed, are forty centimeters the larger one
and thirty centimeters the smaller one.
Paragraph: This should be the ensign used on the ships of the
Colombian [Merchant] Marine and on the offices of the Consulates
accredited abroad.
Zeljko Heimer, 17 May 2001
There are construction details in the law. Flag is 300 x 200
cm. Blue oval is 40 cm high and 30 cm wide, red ring around is 5
cm.. [zna99] shows it correct.
Ralf Stelter, 17 May 2001
One comment to the putative using the civil ensign by
Colombian diplomatic missions: the Colombian embassy in Prague
uses the national flag, not the ensign. If the Colombian civil
ensign would in fact be used by the diplomatic missions, it is
the state flag, isn't it? It should be labelled as -S-/C--.
Jan Zrzavy, 20 and 26 May 2001
This would mean that the role of state flag on land (-S-/---)
belongs indistinctly to two different flag. Can it be so?
Antonio Martins, 28 May 2001
Yes. Absolutely. There are many examples of such cases.
Remember that the "dot system" is only informative and
orientational and many countries have their
"specialities" which make often cases of two (or more)
flags that could be used (maybe only in certain circumstances)
for one of the uses in the "dot spaces".
Zeljko Heimer, 28 May 2001
Columbia has a distinctive civil ensign, apparently because
its national flag is too similar to that of Ecuador. Therefore it
seems strange that the national flag is said to be also the state
ensign, for that would still cause confusion with the Ecuadorian
flag. In my opinion, there are two real possibilities: one is
that the civil ensign being also the state ensign, the other is
that the war ensign being also the state ensign.
Miles Li, 29 May 2001
The civil ensign is distinctive from that of Ecuador as it has
a seal while Ecuador uses her plain flag.
The state flag of Colombia is plain while that of Ecuador has the
Coat of Arms in it. So both do not cause any confusion. The
national flags or civil flags - both plain - are flown by the
inhabitants of either country. So there will be no confusion as
the inhabitants will surely know in which country they live and
fly their flag. The civil ensign of Colombia is also a state
flag, but only for special occasions, i.e. for embassies,
consulates and foreign dependencies of the government, so it
should be possibly named "state flag in foreign
countries" or "state flag abroad". So the
confusion is also avoided. But: The Colombian embassy in Berlin
uses the plain flag outside their building, while inside the flag
of the ambassador shows the badge. The secretary of the embassy
told me: "The badge or seal is stitched onto the flag and it
would never be used outside. This flag is the personal flag of
the ambassador or any official dealing with Colombian affairs.
The flag hoisted outside should normally be with the seal, but is
used without as it is distinctive from Ecuador's flag - they use
the flag with CoA - and it does not matter which flag - the one
with seal or the plain flag - is used." So the flag with
seal should possibly be named "state flag abroad,
alternate"...
Ralf Stelter, 29 May 2001
What I am really talking about is the State Ensign afloat, not
the State Flag on land. If a distinctive civil ensign exists to
distinguish Columbia from Ecuador, why not the state ensign?
Miles Li, 29 May 2001
Merchant ships, both in sea and in the air, use the civil
engine. I am not sure about actual custom at see, but they
are supposed to fly it, and all commertial aircrafts have it
painted (some times with a circle instead of an oval, and many
times with a five pointed star). Here in Bogotá, nobody
flies the civil engine, I would dare that very few people would
even recognize it. I can't remember any time I have seen
that flag flying from a pole on land, and as I live quite away
from the sea, I cannot check right now if it is actually used on
boats.
Carlos Thompson, 24 March 2003
by Jaume Ollé, 27 October 2001
by Jaume Ollé, 27 October 2001
by Zeljko Heimer, 17 May 2001
1 unit = 5 cm.
by Zeljko Heimer, 23 May 2001
National flag with a large blue border.
Source: Album des Pavillons (1995) [pay].
Ivan Sache, 12 August 1999
According to [pay00] - Customs
(2:3) - National flag with blue border (i.e. similar to port capitains flag but with blue
border). The blue border in Album 2000 is light blue. Previous
Album issues had that border of the same blue as the middle
stripe, but similarly with discussion regarding other flags with
this "duality" the Album 2000 images are supposedly
correct (or more correct then others, it may easily be that in
practice the difference is not observed).
Zeljko Heimer, 23 May 2001
Flaggenbuch (1939) already showed the flag. The customs ensign
has the same pattern as port
capitain, but with a blue border. Anyway, the figures are
slightly different: height of the horizontal blue borders: 46
each.
Therefore, the national flag inside the blue border should be
108:204 (figures not mentioned on the image). Its stripes are
50:24:24, from top to bottom. There is something wrong in
Flaggenbuch figures in this case!
Ivan Sache, 24 May 2001
In Flaggenbuch the blue border of the customs ensign has the
same shade as the blue stripe in the national flag it surrounds.
After rechecking the image, I an confirm that Flaggenbuch indeed
shows a slightly off-centered Colombian flag in the Port
commander's flag. The image agrees with the numbers put on it,
and I cannot imagine Neubecker making two mistakes in the same
flag.
Ivan Sache, 27 May 2001
by Jaume Ollé, 5 November 2001
by Jaume Ollé, 5 November 2001
Images according to Flaggenbuch and others inc. Restrepo
Uribe.
Jaume Ollé, 5 November 2001
(2:3)
According to [pay00]
by Zeljko Heimer, 20 May 2001
(2:3)
Variant (?)
by Jaume Ollé, 5 November 2001
According to [pay00] -
Merchant ships whose captain is Navy officer (reserve) (---/C--
(2:3)) - The same design as the civil ensign with addition of a
black anchor in canton. This flag should maybe more simple be
called "Reserve ensign" as this is the English term
that covers it.
Zeljko Heimer, 20 May 2001