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Whereas the International Rules for the Provention of Collision at Sea (IRPCS or 'Colregs') is consistent worldwide, buoyage systems are split into two groups, both overseen by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA).These are known respectively as IALA 'A' and IALA 'B'.
IALA ‘A’ is employed across Europe, Russia, India, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and much of the Western Pacific.
IALA ‘B’ is the system used in North and South America, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and some of the Caribbean islands.
Parts of the two systems are identical, but there are also some very significant differences. We shall come to the similarities later. Let's look at the differences first. These are best shown graphically.
IALA 'A'
To European and antipodean mariners, the system shown above will be very familiar. When proceeding in the direction of the flood tide – that's to say, usually homeward bound – the red port-hand buoys will be on the port side.
However, as we've already seen, not the whole world sees it the same way.
IALA 'B'
The American influence prevails over waters where "red right returning" is the norm. The lateral buoys' shapes remain the same but the colours switch. This shouldn't pose a problem for inshore mariners, since the 'A' and 'B' categories are for the most part separated by substantial stretches of water.
Direction of buoyage
- Tidal: Lateral buoys are typically referenced to the direction of the 'main stream of flood' which usually means heading inwards towards an estuary or harbour.
- Continental: Offshore systems tend to go clockwise around continents.
- Local: In tideless water – particulary in confusing situations, perhaps where there are lots of islands – the direction of buoyage will be established by the authorities and the references marked on the chart as shown below.
The single arrow indicates the direction of buoyage while the symbol with the two arrows pointing at each other marks the point where the direction of buoyage changes.
Cardinal marks
These are the same for both INLA 'A' and INLA 'B'. Cardinal marks or buoys warn of danger and indicate in what direction it lies. For example a West cardinal will lie to the west of the danger so the danger itself will be to the east. The dotted strips show the light characteristics.
Note that in the system of yellow and black bands, the black topmarks point to where the black bands will be
Many closely related subjects are covered in RYA Seamanship for Sea Anglers
Navigation IALA Buoyage Systems - how navigational buoyage systems work
