Merchant Navy (United Kingdom)
![Badge of the British Merchant Navy](/Images/godic/202501/01/Badge_of_British_Merchant_Navy4157.JPG"){kind=icon}
![Second World War poster highlighting wartime dangers that the Merchant Navy faced](/Images/godic/202501/01/INF3-127_War_Effort_Under_the_Red_Duster_they_sustain_our_Island_Fortress4157.jpg")
![The British steamer Audax sinking after being torpedoed by a U-boat.](/Images/godic/202501/01/SS_Audax_sinking4157.jpg")
![An example of Merchant Navy Officers, graduating at their 'passing out' ceremony from Warsash Maritime Academy in Southampton, with Former First Sea Lord Alan West, Baron West of Spithead, in 2011.](/Images/godic/202501/01/Warsash_Deck_20114157.jpg")
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). King George V bestowed the title of "Merchant Navy" on the British merchant shipping fleets following their service in the First World War; a number of other nations have since adopted the title.