The British first arrived in what is now modern-day Sierra Leone in 1787, when philanthropists and abolitionists acquired 52 square kilometres (20 sq mi) of land situated close to Bunce Island for freed slaves.

The emblem of Sierra Leone at the time consisted of a circle depicting an elephant, an oil palm tree and mountains, along with the letters "S.L."

[3][4][7] The blue evokes the "natural harbour" of Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone,[3][4] as well as the hope of "contributing to world peace" through its usage.

[11] In 2010, they stopped allowing fishing vessels to register in order to stymie unauthorized catches within both its domestic waters and in international seas.

[10] In 2015, following the establishment of their International Ship Registry (SLMARAD) which developed various mechanisms, such as due diligence procedure, FSIs and others, and through the ratification of major IMO and ILO Conventions and implementation of such in their Domestic law, the Sierra Leonean government managed to successfully eliminate such incidents.