A linguistic convention can alter how the same hull is described. Russian usage treats ships as masculine, while British and American traditions conventionally use feminine pronouns and connect that usage with a vessel carrying life. HMS Royal Sovereign therefore became grammatically masculine during Soviet service and feminine again after returning to Britain. Ship identity includes service language as well as design and ownership, which matters when comparing multinational records of the same warship.
Notable Point · 3:32:30-3:33:44
A warship's grammatical gender can change between navies
Russian usage treats ships as masculine while British and American tradition treats them as feminine, so Royal Sovereign changed grammatical gender in Soviet service and changed back on return.