Buoys and beacons Buoyage

Development. The beginning of a uniform system of buoyage emerged in 1889, when certain countries agreed to mark the port hand side of channels with black can buoys and the starboard hand with red conical buoys.

Unfortunately when lights for buoys were introduced, some European countries placed red lights on the black port hand buoys to conform with the red lights marking the port hand side of harbour entrances, whilst throughout North America red lights were placed on the red starboard hand buoys.

Thereafter various conferences sought a single buoyage system, but without success until 1936 when a system was drawn up under the League of Nations at Geneva. It established a cardinal system, and a Lateral system with the principle that red buoys should be used on the port hand and black buoys on the starboard hand. But several countries were not signatories to this Convention and continued to develop their original and opposite systems.

After World War II (1939-45) buoyage systems were reestablished in North-west Europe based on the system devised by the 1936 Geneva Convention but wide differences in interpretation of that system resulted in 9 different systems coming into use in those waters.

The severest test of a buoyage occurs when the mariner is confronted unexpectedly by night or in low visibility by the lights marking an uncharted danger, such as a recent wreck; immediately he must instinctively positively and correctly decide which way to go.

In the Dover Strait in 1971 the Brandenburg struck the wreckage of the Texaco Caribbean and sank, though the wreckage was appropriate marked. A few weeks later the wreckage despite being marked by a wreck-marking vessel and many buoys was struck by the Niki, which also sank. A total of 51 lives were lost. It was this disaster, which brought to life the IALA Maritime Buoyage System.

In 1973, observing the need for urgency, a further attempt to find a single worldwide system of buoyage was made by the Technical Committee of the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). IALA is a non-governmental body, which brings together representatives form the aids to navigation services in order to exchange information and recommend improvements to navigational aids based on the latest technology.

IALA decided that the agreement could not be achieved immediately, but concluded that the use of only two alternative systems was practicable by dividing the world into two Regions. It proposed the system allowing the use of both Cardinal and Lateral Systems in each Region, but whereas in Region A the colour red of the Lateral system is used to mark the port side of the channels and the colour green the starboard side, in Region B the colours are reversed. There are many systems of buoyage worldwide besides those described above, in current use, and the mariner should be perfectly aware of the details of every system he encounters, from a careful study of the relevant sailing directions.

For the purpose of using the IALA system, the mariner must be familiar with the “Direction of Buoyage” within the area in which he is navigating.

The Conventional Direction of Buoyage is defined in one of two ways:

Local Direction of Buoyage. The direction taken by the mariner when approaching a harbour, river, estuary, or other waterway from seaward;

General Direction of Buoyage. The direction determined by the buoyage authorities, based wherever possible on the principle of following a clockwise direction around continents. It is usually given in Admiralty Sailing Directions and, if necessary indicated on charts by the appropriate symbols.

The essential feature of the IALA Maritime Buoyage System A is red for port-hand and green for starboard-hand buoys.

Lateral marks. Lateral marks are generally used for well-defined channels in conjunction with a Conventional Direction of Buoyage. They indicate the port and the starboard hand sides of the route to be followed.

If marks at the sides of a channel are numbered or lettered, the sequence follows the conventional direction of buoyage.

Preferred Channels. At the point where a channel divides, when proceeding in the Conventional Direction of Buoyage, to form two alternative channels to the same destination, the Preferred Channel is indicated by a modified Lateral mark. The system does not provide for a Preferred Channel mark where the two channels join.

Colours. Red and green are the colours reserved for Lateral marks.

Topmarks. Port-hand marks carry can-shaped topmarks, and starboard-hand marks carry conical topmarks.

Lights. Red and green lights are used for Lateral marks. Lateral marks for certain purposes have specified rhythms:

Composite Group Flashing (2+1) for Preferred Channel marks;

Quick or Very Quick for New Danger Marks.

Other Lateral marks may have lights of any rhythm.

Special marks. Can and cone shapes coloured yellow may be used as Special marks in conjunction with the Lateral marks for special types of channel marking.

Cardinal marks. Cardinal marks are used in conjunction with the compass to indicate where the mariner may find the best navigable water. They are placed in one of the four quadrants (North, South, East or West) bounded by intercardinal bearings, from the point marked. Cardinal marks take their name from the quadrant in which they are placed.

The mariner is safe if he passes N of a North mark, E of an East mark, S of a South mark, and W of a West mark.

Cardinal marks may be used to:

• indicate that the deepest water in an area is on the named side of the mark;

• indicate the safe side on which to pass a danger;

• draw attention to a feature in a channel such as a bend, junction, bifurcation, end of a shoal.

2. Learn by heart the following words, word combinations and abbreviations relating to buoys and beacons

1. Cylindrical buoy – цилиндрический буй

2. Conical buoy – конический буй

3. Spherical buoy – сферический буй

4. Pillar buoy – столбовидный (сигарообразный) буй

5. Spar (spindle) buoy – веха (вехообразный/веретенообразный) буй

6. Barrel buoy – бочкообразный буй

7. Super-buoy – супербуй

8. Topmarks – топовые фигуры

9. Light buoy – светящийся буй

10. Bell buoy (Bell) – буй с колоколом

11. Gong buoy (Gong) – буй с гонгом

12. Whistle bouy (Whist) – буй со свистком

Colours of aids to navigation:

14. White (W) – белый

15. Yellow, orange, amber (Y) –желтый, оранжевый, янтарный

16. Green (G) – зеленый

17. Red (R) – красный

18. Black (B) – черный

19. Brown (Br) – коричневый

20. Grey, silvery (Gr) – серый, серебристый

21. Blue (Bu) – синий, голубой

22. Chequered (Cheq.) – Шахматный

23. Buoys and marks with horizontal bands – буи и вехи с горизонтальными полосами

24. Buoys and marks with vertical stripes – буи и вехи с вертикальными полосами

25. Lit floating aids to navigation – световые плавучие средства навигации

26. Floating aids to navigation over wreck - плавучие средства навигации над затонувшим судном

27. Floating aids to navigation over submerged stone, rock - плавучие средства навигации над подводным камнем, скалой

28. Floating aids to navigation over underwater obstruction (Obstn) - плавучие средства навигации над подводным препятствием

29. Bⁿ – beacon in general

30. Bⁿ Tower – Башня, знак башенного типа

31. Perch – шест

32. Reflector (Refl) – отражатель