ABSTRACT
Navigation marks and buoys are an indispensable part of safe maritime navigation. Just as road users must follow road signs and traffic lights, ships’ navigators must follow a uniform system of marks and buoyage. The development of a uniform system of buoyage is one of the greatest improvements in global shipping. To establish a system that could be followed anywhere around the world, the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) developed a set of rules called the IALA Buoyage System for Mariners. To maintain worldwide uniformity, the IALA divided the world into two regions: Region A and Region B. Region A encompasses Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the Gulf States, and some countries in Asia. Region B incorporates North, Central and South America, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines. To enhance the safety of the system, the IALA assigned colours to the port and starboard sides of navigable channels. These sides would then be marked using coloured buoys called lateral marks. This system is called the Lateral System. In Region A, the colour red is used to designate the port side of the channel and the colour green is used to designate the starboard side of the channel. In Region B, the colours are reversed. The IALA Buoyage System provides six types of marks that navigators must observe: (1) lateral marks; (2) cardinal marks; (3) isolated danger marks; (4) safe water marks; (5) special marks; and (6) emergency wreck marking buoys. Importantly, regional colour variations do not apply to cardinal, isolated danger marks, safe water marks, or special marks.
