CEVNI Signs: Prohibitory, Mandatory, Restrictive, Recommendatory, Informative

Prerequisites

You should already have worked through the lesson CEVNI: The European Inland Waterways Code, so you know:

• that CEVNI is a UNECE model code applied through national codes;
• what small craft, motorised vessels and the fairway are;
• that banks are named as seen facing downstream.

You should also know basic IALA Region A buoyage from your coastal training. Inland bank marks follow a related but slightly different logic, explained below.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Recognise the five main families of CEVNI waterway signs from their shape and colour alone.
• Give the meaning of the common signs in each family (series A to E).
• Read auxiliary panels that add distances, directions and explanations to a main sign.
• Interpret light signals that replace or accompany signs, including at bridges and locks.
• Identify the main bank and fairway marks used on CEVNI waterways.
• Use simple memory aids to answer sign questions quickly in the CEVNI test.

Why Signs Matter So Much Inland

At sea you navigate mainly with charts, buoys and lights. Inland, the waterway authority speaks to you directly through signs on the banks, bridges and lock walls. They tell you where you may not go, where you must go, how fast, how deep and how high, and where you can moor, fill up with water or phone the lock keeper.

The signs are standardised in CEVNI Annex 7, based on the UNECE system of signs and signals on inland waterways (SIGNI). They are designed so that a skipper can understand them without reading any language. That is also why the CEVNI test leans so heavily on them: in the RYA online test, a whole part of the paper is about signs and buoyage.

The good news is that the system is logical. Once you know the five families, you can usually work out a sign you have never seen.

The Five Families at a Glance

The key distinctions:

• Red border means a rule you must obey (A, B and C).
• Red diagonal stripe turns the rule into a prohibition (A).
• Yellow means advice (D).
• Blue means information or permission (E).

Click to zoom

Most E signs are simply the A sign without the stripe, on a blue background. "No berthing" (A5) has a red stripe through a P; "berthing permitted" (E5) is a white P on blue. Learn them in pairs and you halve your work.

Series A: Prohibitory Signs

Prohibitory signs forbid an action. Most are white boards with a red border and a red diagonal stripe through a black symbol. The general prohibition "no entry" has its own special forms.

Reading A1 and A10

A1, no entry, is the sign you must never get wrong. It appears in several forms: a square red board with a white horizontal band (like a road "no entry"), a red and white panel, or red lights. A single red light at a lock or bridge means no passage. Two red lights, one above the other, are usually used for a longer closure, for example a lock out of service.

A10 is usually seen as a pair of half-red, half-white boards at the edges of a bridge opening, with the red halves on the outside. The message is "do not pass outside the area between these boards". The white halves point to the opening you may use.

Signs that apply to some vessels only

Signs A12 to A20 forbid a particular kind of vessel or activity. As a pleasure skipper, watch especially for A13 (no pleasure craft), A12 (no motorised vessels, often on small lakes or nature reserves) and A15 (no sailing). Just because a stretch of water looks open does not mean you may use it.

Series B: Mandatory Signs

Mandatory signs tell you that you must do something. They are white with a red border, like A signs, but with no diagonal stripe.

Telling B2, B3 and B4 apart

These three pairs confuse many students because they all have arrows. Look at what the arrow does:

• B2, move to: a single arrow that bends across to one side. You are being told to go over to that side.
• B3, keep to: an arrow that runs straight along one side. You are already there; stay there.
• B4, cross: an arrow that crosses the board from one side to the other, usually at a bend where the channel swaps banks.

The letter "a" means port and "b" means starboard. A simple way to remember: "a" comes first in the alphabet, "p" (port) comes before "s" (starboard).

Speed and sound

B6 shows a number inside a red ring, like a road speed-limit sign, in km/h. A limit of 6 km/h is about 3.2 knots; 10 km/h is about 5.4 knots; 12 km/h is about 6.5 knots. Most boat logs read knots, and most charter boats show their speed on GPS in knots unless you change the setting, so work out the conversion before you start. A quick rule of thumb: knots are a little more than half the km/h figure.

B7 (a horn symbol) is usually placed before a blind bend or a bridge. Give one long blast so oncoming vessels know you are there.

Series C: Restrictive Signs

Restrictive signs warn of a physical limit or restriction. They have the same red border as A and B signs, and usually show a number.

C signs are critical for a sailing boat with a mast up and for a deep-keeled yacht. A C2 sign showing 3.50 means there is 3.5 m of clearance under the bridge. Remember that the figure may refer to a stated water level; on rivers, real clearance can be less after rain raises the water level. Many bridges also have water-level gauges (clearance boards) on the piers. Know your air draught and your draught, with a margin, before you set off.

Series D: Recommendatory Signs

Recommendatory signs give advice. They are yellow, which you can think of as "like a friendly warning".

The D1 diamond at the top of a bridge arch is one of the commonest signs you will see. One yellow diamond means "use this arch; traffic may be coming the other way". Two diamonds side by side mean "use this arch; it is one-way, and nobody is coming the other way through it".

Strictly, a recommendation is not a legal obligation. In practice, use the recommended arch unless you have a very good reason not to. Commercial skippers will assume you will.

Series E: Informative Signs

Informative signs give information or show that something is permitted. Most are blue with a white symbol.

The "pairs" trick

Many signs have an A version and an E version, with the same symbol:

You do not need to memorise every number for the test; you need to know the meaning from the picture. But the pairs help you spot the meaning instantly.

Auxiliary Panels

Main signs are often fitted with extra rectangular white panels underneath or alongside them. These auxiliary panels refine the meaning, and in some publications and codes they are grouped separately (sometimes listed as their own series). You should be able to read the common kinds:

• Distance panels. A number in metres, often with an arrow, showing how far ahead the main sign applies. A B6 speed limit sign with a panel showing "1000 m" means the limit starts 1,000 m ahead.
• Direction arrows. Arrows show the direction in which the main sign applies. An A5 (no berthing) sign with an arrow pointing left means no berthing for the stretch to the left of the sign. Arrows pointing both ways mean the prohibition applies in both directions.
• Explanatory text or symbols. A short text, a time, or a symbol such as a lorry or a fuel pump, explaining the reason or limiting the rule (for example, berthing only for a stated time).
• Supplementary light or board. For example, an E12 advance signal before a lock, showing what the main signal ahead is displaying.

If a sign seems too broad, look for a panel. Most of the "exceptions" to a rule are written on it.

Light Signals Instead of Boards

Many signs can also be shown by lights, especially at bridges and locks, and at night. The colours follow the same logic as the boards:

At locks, a typical sequence as you wait is: red (wait), red and green (prepare, the gates are about to open), then green (enter). Never enter a lock on red, even if the gates are open. On leaving, wait for the gates to open fully and the green signal, if one is shown.

Click to zoom

Bank and Fairway Marks

As well as signs, inland waterways use buoys and bank marks to show the edges of the fairway. CEVNI marks are related to IALA buoyage but are defined by the river's downstream direction, not by the direction of buoyage from the sea.

So, going downstream, red marks are on your right and green marks on your left. Going upstream, red marks are on your left and green on your right. That is the reverse of what a sea sailor might expect when "returning from sea" and is a common test trap.

Click to zoom

On tidal estuaries and in coastal approaches, IALA buoyage applies instead. Where the two systems meet, read the chart carefully.

Kilometre boards

Along major rivers you will see boards on the bank with numbers: these are kilometre markers. They let you give your position precisely over the radio ("downstream, kilometre 562") and judge your progress. Learn to read them on your inland charts, where they are printed along the fairway.

How to Read an Unfamiliar Sign

When you see a sign you do not recognise, ask four questions in order:

1. What colour? Red border: obey. Red stripe: prohibited. Yellow: advice. Blue: information or permission.
2. What symbol? A boat, an anchor, a P (berthing), an arrow, a number, a cable or a fuel pump.
3. Any number? Depth (C1), headroom (C2), width (C3), distance (C5) or speed (B6). Numbers are in metres or km/h.
4. Any panel? Distance, direction arrow or text that limits or extends the sign.

Combine the answers. A white board with a red border and red stripe through a P with an arrow pointing to the right: no berthing, for the stretch to the right of the sign.

Memory Aids

• "Red stripe, no type." The red diagonal stripe always forbids whatever is shown.
• "Blue is for you." Blue boards tell you something is available or permitted.
• "Yellow is a fellow's advice." Yellow signs and lights recommend.
• "A is Against, B is Bound to, C is Capped, D is Do consider, E is Everything else." A crude but effective list for the five families.
• "a before b, port before starboard." For B2, B3 and B4.
• "Face down the river to name the bank." Red on the right going downstream.

Worked Example: Approaching a Bridge and Lock

You are taking a sailing yacht with its mast lowered up a Dutch river towards a lock. You pass the following, in order:

1. A B6 sign showing 9, with a panel showing 500 m. The speed limit is 9 km/h, starting 500 m ahead. 9 km/h is about 4.9 knots. You reduce to 4.5 knots on the GPS.
2. A C2 sign showing 4.20 on the bridge ahead. Headroom is 4.2 m. Your air draught with the mast lowered is 3.1 m, so you have about 1.1 m clearance, less any rise in water level. You check the clearance board on the pier, which agrees.
3. Three bridge arches. Above the left arch, two yellow diamonds side by side. Above the middle arch, one yellow diamond. Above the right arch, a red and white A1 board. You must not use the right arch. The middle arch is recommended for two-way traffic. The left arch is recommended for one-way traffic going your way. You take the left arch.
4. A B7 sign before a bend. You give one long blast.
5. An E12 advance signal showing a red light. The lock signal ahead is red.
6. At the lock, an E5 sign and a waiting pontoon. Berthing is permitted here. You moor and wait.
7. The lock signal changes to red and green. Prepare to get under way. You start the engine and single up.
8. The signal changes to green. You enter the lock and follow the lock keeper's instructions.

You read eight signs and made eight correct decisions, without needing a word of Dutch.

Common Mistakes

• Confusing B and A signs. Both have red borders. Only A signs have the red diagonal stripe.
• Reading speed limits as knots. B6 limits are in km/h.
• Forgetting the auxiliary panel. A sign may only apply ahead, to one side, or at certain times.
• Getting bank colours the wrong way round going upstream. Red is on the right going downstream, so on the left going upstream.
• Treating one yellow diamond as one-way. One diamond is two-way traffic; two diamonds side by side is one-way.
• Entering a lock on red because the gates are open. Wait for green.
• Ignoring headroom changes with water level. A C2 figure is not a guarantee on a river in flood.
• Assuming E signs are optional to read. An E1 or a radio channel (E23) can be just as important as a prohibition.

Summary

• CEVNI signs come in five families: A prohibitory, B mandatory, C restrictive, D recommendatory, E informative.
• A, B and C signs have red borders. A signs add a red diagonal stripe. D signs are yellow. E signs are mostly blue.
• Many signs come in pairs: an A sign forbids, the matching E sign permits.
• Key A signs: A1 no entry, A2 no overtaking, A5 no berthing, A6 no anchoring, A9 no wash, A12 to A20 vessel-type prohibitions.
• Key B signs: B1 proceed in direction of arrow, B2 move to a side, B3 keep to a side, B4 cross over, B5 stop, B6 speed limit in km/h, B7 sound signal, B8 sharp lookout, B11 radio contact.
• C signs show limits: depth (C1), headroom (C2), width (C3), restrictions (C4), distance of fairway from bank (C5).
• D signs recommend: one yellow diamond is two-way, two diamonds is one-way.
• Auxiliary panels add distance, direction and explanation.
• Lights repeat the board logic: red stop, red and green prepare, green go, yellow recommended.
• Bank marks are named facing downstream: red on the right, green on the left.

Check Your Understanding

1. A white board with a red border and a red diagonal stripe through an anchor. What does it mean?

Answer: A6, no anchoring (and no dragging of anchors, cables or chains).

1. What is the difference between B2b and B3b?

Answer: B2b tells you to move to the starboard side of the fairway. B3b tells you to keep to the starboard side of the fairway.

1. A board with a red border shows "3.80". Which sign is it likely to be at a bridge, and what does it tell you?

Answer: C2, limited headroom. There is 3.8 m of clearance under the bridge at the reference water level.

1. Above a bridge arch you see two yellow diamonds side by side. What does this mean?

Answer: D1b: recommended passage, one-way traffic. Traffic from the other direction is not allowed through this arch.

1. A blue board with a white P. What does it mean?

Answer: E5, berthing (mooring) permitted on the side of the waterway where the sign is placed.

1. A B6 sign shows 12. Roughly what is that in knots?

Answer: About 6.5 knots (12 km/h divided by 1.852).

1. At a lock, you see one red and one green light together. What should you do?

Answer: Prepare to get under way. Do not enter until the signal changes to green.

1. You are going upstream. On which side should you see the red fairway marks?

Answer: On your left (port) side. Red marks the right side of the fairway, seen facing downstream.

1. An A5 sign has an auxiliary panel with an arrow pointing left. What does it mean?

Answer: No berthing on the stretch to the left of the sign.

1. What colour family are recommendatory signs?

Answer: Yellow: yellow diamonds, squares or lights.