Maritime Buoyage System

Historical Background

As recently as 1976 there were more than thirty different buoyage systems in use world wide, many of these systems having rules in complete conflict with one another. This resulted in a situation particularly confusing at night when a mariner could be unexpectedly confronted by a light, the meaning of which was not clear. Such confusion was especially dangerous when the unidentified light was marking a new and as yet uncharted danger,  such as a recent wreck. This left the mariner in doubt as to his proper course of action leading him to make a wrong and perhaps disastrous decision.

Over the years, many attempts were made to solve these differences of opinion but without success. The nearest approach to international agreement on a unified system of buoyage was reached at Geneva in 1936. Unfortunately, this Agreement, drawn up under the auspices of the League of Nations, was never ratified due to the outbreak of World War II. The Agreement proposed the use of either Cardinal marks or Lateral marks but separated them into two different systems. It also provided for the use of the colour red on port hand marks and largely reserved the colour green for wreck marking.

At the end of World War II many countries found their aids to navigation destroyed and the process of rehabilitation had to be undertaken urgently. In the absence of anything better, the Geneva rules were adopted with or without variation to suit local conditions and the equipment available. This led to wide and sometimes conflicting differences particularly in the crowded waters of North Western Europe.

Much of the North and South American continents and some countries of the Pacific continued to favour "red to starboard" and used only a Lateral system of buoyage.

To meet the conflicting requirements, it was thought necessary as a first step to formulate two systems, one using the colour red to mark the port hand side of channels and the other using the colour red to mark the starboard hand side of channels. These were called System A and System B.

The rules for the two Systems were so similar that the Executive Committee felt able to combine the 2 sets of rules into one, known as "The IALA Maritime Buoyage System". This single set of rules allows Lighthouse Authorities the choice of using red to port, or red to starboard, on a regional basis, the two regions being known as Region A and Region B.

At a Conference convened by IALA in November 1980 with the assistance of Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) and the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), the Lighthouse Authorities from 50 countries and the representatives of 9 international Organisations concerned with aids to navigation met, and agreed to adopt the rules of the new combined System. The boundaries of the buoyage regions were also decided and illustrated on the map annexed to the rules. The Conference also underlined the need for cooperation between neighbouring countries and with Hydrographic Services in the introduction of the new System.

Thus the IALA Maritime Buoyage System will, for the first time, help the Mariner of any nationality to fix his/her position and avoid dangers without fear of ambiguity. This is indeed an important and positive contribution of safety of life and property at sea.

excerpt from the IALA Maritime Buoyage System - Historical Background