IALA buoyage cheat sheet
IALA Region A (Europe, Africa, most of Asia and Oceania)
Port Hand Lateral
Red, any rhythm
Leave to port when entering from seaward
Starboard Hand Lateral
Green, any rhythm
Leave to starboard when entering from seaward
Preferred Channel to Starboard
Red, Fl(2+1)
Main channel is to starboard — treat as a port hand mark
Preferred Channel to Port
Green, Fl(2+1)
Main channel is to port — treat as a starboard hand mark
North Cardinal
White, VQ or Q
Safe water to the north of the mark
East Cardinal
White, VQ(3) or Q(3)
Safe water to the east of the mark
South Cardinal
White, VQ(6)+LFl or Q(6)+LFl
Safe water to the south of the mark
West Cardinal
White, VQ(9) or Q(9)
Safe water to the west of the mark
Isolated Danger
White, Fl(2)
Small danger with navigable water all around
Safe Water
White, Iso, Oc, LFl 10s or Mo(A)
Navigable water all around — fairway or landfall mark
Special Mark
Yellow, any rhythm not used for white lights
Special area or feature — outfalls, cables, racing marks, spoil grounds
Emergency Wreck Marking
Alternating blue and yellow, Al.Bu.Y
Newly discovered wreck, not yet on charts
IALA Region B (the Americas, Japan, Korea, Philippines)
Port Hand Lateral
Green, can / cylindrical
Starboard Hand Lateral
Red, conical
Only the colours of lateral marks swap: “red right returning”. Shapes, cardinal and other marks are the same.
Cardinal light rhythms: a clock face
| North | VQ or Q, continuous (12 o’clock) |
|---|---|
| East | VQ(3) 5s or Q(3) 10s (3 o’clock) |
| South | VQ(6)+LFl 10s or Q(6)+LFl 15s (6 o’clock) |
| West | VQ(9) 10s or Q(9) 15s (9 o’clock) |