About the Side Numbers of the Arab Corvettes

Last June, the brand new Saudi Arabian corvette, “Al Jubail,” entered the port of Cartagena, the first of a series of five units that Navantia San Fernando is building for that nation. As is customary in ships of Islamic countries' navies, the port side features the side number in Arabic characters, while the starboard side displays the same "translated" into decimal system numbers.

This creates a curious image when viewed head-on (for submariners when it is at "Beta 0"), as both numbers can be seen, since they are placed right on the bows.

The first of these beautiful corvettes bears the number 828, and so far everything is normal, until a few days ago when the second unit arrived in Cartagena, named “Al Diriyah,” whose "side number" is 830. This fact caught our attention, as if the first was 828, this one, being the next, should have been 829, which led us to investigate the matter.

The conclusion is surprising; it turns out that in that navy, up to a certain tonnage (patrol boats and similar displacement), all the "side numbers" end in an odd number, while for larger units (corvettes, frigates, etc.), all end in an even number, so for example, the five corvettes of the series will carry the numbers 828, 830, 832, 834, and 836, in that order.

It is a maritime curiosity that we share because surely many of you are unaware of it, just as I was until recently.

Bow view of one of the Arab corvettes

Photos: Diego Quevedo Carmona