Buoys

NLB currently provides over 150 lit buoys, it also has a legal responsibility inspection of 647 third party buoys in its waters. Pursuing a policy of using renewable energy sources, combined with a desire to reduce risk to the work-force, the Board has completed solarising its statutory buoy inventory.

The type of buoys used by the NLB conform to the IALA Region A model and comprises 6 principal buoy types:

Lateral Marks (i.e. Port (red) & Starboard (green) buoys)

Cardinal Marks (yellow/black marks depicting the safe side of any hazard)

Isolated Danger Marks (red/black horizontal stripes)

Safe Water Marks (white/red vertical stripes)

Special Marks (yellow with an ‘X’ topmark)

New Danger Marks (blue/yellow vertical stripes) 

As a general rule, reliance cannot be placed on floating aids always maintaining their exact positions. Buoys should therefore be regarded with caution, especially when in exposed positions or after poor weather. Buoys should generally not be used as a primary source of vessel position but rather for situational awareness. In circumstances where they are the only source of visual positional reference caution should be used. The majority of NLB buoys display their name and the NLB website address.

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