US Edition SHIPS should no longer be called "she", the industry's newspaper has decreed.
Lloyd's List, the 268-year-old publication which claims to be the world's oldest daily newspaper, is to abandon centuries of seafaring tradition by calling all vessels "it".
The reason, explained in yesterday's issue, is to bring the paper "into line with most other reputable international business titles".
Julian Bray, the editor, wrote: "The shipping industry does need to move forward if it is not to risk becoming a backwater of international business. I decided that it was time to catch up with the rest of the world, and most other news organisations refer to ships as neuter.
"They are maritime real estate. The world moves on. I can see why 'she' would suit a magnificent cruise liner but to a rusting old hulk it could be rather offensive.
"However, I don't think there is anything wrong with calling ships 'she' in conversation. It's a respectable maritime tradition."
Mr Bray said he was expecting a "full and vibrant array of letters" about the decision from many of the publication's 10,000 readers. Columnists at the paper will still be free to refer to ships as female.
A spokesman for the Royal Navy said it would continue to refer to ships as female. It traditionally chooses masculine or geographical names, such as Iron Duke or Lancaster, for its vessels - although Andromeda, Penelope and Minerva all served in the Falklands War.
"Lloyd's List can do what it wants. The Royal Navy will continue to call its ships 'she' as we always have done. It's historic and traditional," he said.
"Ships have a soul. If I remember my history, they are female because originally the ship was the only woman allowed at sea and was treated with deference and respect - and because they are expensive."
The British Marine Industries Federation also said it had no plans to change.
"Our owners have always referred to them as 'she' and will continue to do so because, to many, they are part of the family," a spokesman said.
Among the theories as to why ships are referred to as female, one claims that crews believed the ship represented their mother, another that it is because early ships were dedicated to a goddess.