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Aids to navigation are special
structures like lighthouses, lightships,

beacons, buoys, etc. that are used to
enhance safety by providing more
opportunities to obtain LOPs.
Please click on
samples to see
their larger.
These lights and marks are prescribed across the world by

the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). In
1977 this IALA endorsed two maritime buoyage systems putting
an end to the 30 odd systems existing at that time. Region A -
IALA A covers all of Europe and most of the rest of the world,
whereas region B - IALA B covers only the Americas, Japan, the
Philippines and Korea. Fortunately, the differences between these
two systems are few. The most striking difference is the direction
of buoyage.
Please click on the picture to go previous slide.
Please click on the picture to go previous slide.
All marks within the IALA
system are distinguished by:
Shape
Color
Top mark
Light
During daytime, the identification During the night, we use the
of aids to navigation is features of the aid to
accomplished by observing: navigation's light to both identify
location, shape, colour scheme, it and ascertain its purpose.
auxiliary features (sound signals, There are three features to
RACON , RC , etc) or describe the light:
markings (name, number, etc).
•Colour: Either white, red, green or yellow. If no colour is stated in

the chart, default is white.
•Period: The time in seconds needed for one complete cycle of
changes.The arrow indicates the 10 second period of this flashing
light “Fl(3) 10s”.
•Phase characteristic: The particular pattern of changes within one
complete cycle (hence, within one period).
Below are the most common phase characteheristics type.
50
50-80
80-
160
Let's look at some examples using
color, period and phase characteristics. The
arrows mark the periods:
All lighted aids to navigation are either major or minor lights, where
major lights are used for key navigational points along sea-coasts, channels and
harbor and river entrances. These lights are normally placed in lightships,
lighthouses and other permanently installed structures, providing both high
intensity and high reliability of the lights. Major lights are then subdivided in
primary lights (very strong, long range lights used for the purpose of making
landfalls or coastal passages) and secondary lights (shorter range lights found
for example at harbor and river entrances). Important details of (especially)
primary lights can be found in a reference called the Light List where
information (about pedestals etc.) can be found which is not included in the
chart. Minor lights on the other hand are likely to be found within harbors,
along channels and rivers. These have a low to moderate intensity and
sometimes mark isolated dangers.
Six types of navigation buoys:
Lateral
Cardinal
Isolated danger
Safe water
New wreck
Special
Lateral Buoys
The location of lateral
buoys defines the borders of
channels and indicates the
direction. Under IALA A red
buoys mark the port side of
the channel when returning
from sea, whereas under
IALA B green buoys mark the
port side of the channel when
sailing towards land. Red
buoys have even numbers
and red lights; green buoys
have odd numbers and green
lights. Lateral lights can have
any calm phase characteristic
except FL (2+1).
Generally, when two
channels meet, one will be
designated the preferred channel
(i.e. most important channel). The
buoy depicted on the right indicates
the preferred channel to starboard
under IALA A. The light phase
characteristic is FL (2+1)R. Red
buoy indicating a preferred channel
to port (in USA, Japan).
Preferred channel to port:
keep buoy to starboard (IALA
A).The buoy depicted on the left
indicates the preferred channel to
port under IALA A. These buoys are
marked with the names and numbers
of both channels. The light phase
characteristic is FL(2+1)G.
Comparison of IALA A and IALA B.
Cardinal buoys
The four cardinal buoys
indicate the safe side of a danger
with an approximate bearing. For
example, the West cardinal buoy has
safe water on its West and the
danger on its East side. Notice the
“clockwise” resemblance of the light
phase characteristics. The top marks
consist of two black triangles placed
in accordance with the black/yellow
scheme of the buoy. When a new
obstacle (not yet shown on charts)
needs to be marked, two cardinal
buoys - for instance a South buoy
and an East buoy - will be used to
indicate this “uncharted” danger. The
cardinal system is identical in both
the IALA A and IALA B buoyage
systems.
NEXT SLIDE
TIDE
Match With
The Chart
Buoys
Marks indicating isolated
dangers
This type of buoy

indicates the position of an
isolated danger, contrary to
cardinal buoys which indicate a
direction away from the
danger. Body: black with red
horizontal band(s); Top mark:
2 black spheres. The light
(when present) consists of a
white flash: Fl(2).
Marks indicating safe water
Notice that whereas

most horizontal striping spells
“danger”, this safe water buoy
is vertically striped. These
marks are for example
seaward of all other buoys
(lateral and cardinal) and can
be used to make landfall.
Body: red and white vertical
stripes; Top mark (if any):
single red sphere. Lights are
typically calm and white: Morse
A, Iso, Occ or LFl 10s.
Special buoys and marks
Most of the time these

yellow buoys indicate pipelines
or areas used for special
purposes.
The five official IALA

shapes, from left to right:
conical, spar, cylindrical, pillar
and spherical.
Marks for new wrecks
After the sinking of the “Tricolor” in the Pas de Calais (Dover Straits) in 2002, several other
vessels hit the wreck despite standard radio warnings, three guard ships and a lighted buoy. This
incident spawned a new type of buoy, the emergency wreck marking buoy, which is placed as close as
possible to a new dangerous wreck.
Emergency wreck marking buoy for new wrecks
The emergency wreck marking buoy will remain in position until: a) the wreck is well
known and has been promulgated in nautical publications; b) the wreck has been fully surveyed and
exact details such as position and least depth above the wreck are known; and c) a permanent form
of marking of the wreck has been carried out.
The buoy has the following characteristics:
* A pillar or spar buoy, with size dependent on location.

* Colored in equal number and dimensions of blue and yellow vertical stripes (minimum of 4
stripes and maximum of 8 stripes).
* Fitted with an alternating blue and yellow flashing light with a nominal range of 4 nautical miles
where the blue and yellow 1 second flashes are alternated with an interval of 0.5 seconds.
B1.0s + 0.5s + Y1.0s + 0.5s = 3.0s
* If multiple buoys are deployed then the lights will be synchronized.
* A recon Morse Code “D” and/or AIS transponder can be used.
* The top mark, if fitted, is a standing/upright yellow cross.
It is important to realize - especially for the color-blind - that this new buoy breaches the
useful and crucial convention: vertical stripes equal safety, horizontal stripes equal danger.
back
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back
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Aids to navigation are special

structures like lighthouses, lightships,

These lights and marks are prescribed across the world by

•Colour: Either white, red, green or yellow. If no colour is stated in

This type of buoy

Notice that whereas

Most of the time these

The five official IALA

The buoy has the following characteristics:

* A pillar or spar buoy, with size dependent on location.

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