I remember when I was still active duty, I had temporary duty in Norway. and I got a tour of a Norwegian Naval Base. It was really awesome. I noticed all their ships had a barcode on the hull instead of the normal numbering I was used to seeing on US ships. I asked my guide, a Norwegian Senior NCO, what that was all about. "Well," he said, "that's so when the ship returns to port, we Scandanavian."