The International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA), previously known as International Association of Lighthouse Authorities, is an

intergovernmental organization Globalization Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of ...

founded in 1957 to collect and provide nautical expertise and advice. IALA is also known by its French name of ''Association Internationale de Signalisation Maritime'' (AISM).

Background

IALA brings together representatives of the aids to navigation services of about 80 countries for technical coordination, information sharing, and coordination of improvements to aids to

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

throughout the world. It was established in 1957 to provide a permanent organization to support the goals of the Technical Lighthouse Conferences, which had been convening since 1929. The General Assembly of IALA meets about every four years. The council of 24 members meets twice a year to oversee the ongoing programs. Four committees maintain work programs established for four year periods: * ENAV – e-Navigation; * ARM – Aids to Navigation Requirements and Management – concentrating on management issues experienced by members; * ENG – Engineering and Sustainability – concentrating on the engineering aspects of all aids to navigation and their impact on the environment, the committee is also in charge of overseeing the IALA activities regarding the preservation of historic lighthouses and equipment; * VTS – Vessel Traffic Services – concentrating on all issues surrounding VTS IALA committees provide important documentation to the

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...

and other international organizations, while the IALA Secretariat acts as a clearing house for the exchange of technical information, and organizes seminars and technical support for developing countries. Its principal work since 1973 has been the implementation of the IALA Maritime Buoyage System. This system replaced some 30 dissimilar buoyage systems in use throughout the world with 2 major systems. This rationalised system was introduced as a result of two accidents in the Dover Straits in 1971 when the ''Brandenburg'' hit the wreck of the '' Texaco Caribbean'' off Folkestone and sank although the wreck was accurately buoyed. A short while later the ''Niki'' also struck the ''Texaco Caribbean'' and sank, despite the wreckage being adequately marked. The combined loss of lives in these two accidents was 51 persons."The Mariner's Handbook", Admiralty, UKHO, p206 Although the international agreement of 1982 implementing a harmonized buoyage system is a major achievement for IALA the Organization, through its committees carried out a lot of works in other directions resulting in innovating techniques being adopted all over the work, such as the AIS (Automatic Identification System), DGNSS (Differential Global Navigation System) and many others. Its future achievement is likely to be the implementation of the e-navigation. e-navigation does not aim at ships being electronically operated but gathering and displaying all navigation information through connected sources of information and harmonized data exchange. IALA is based near Paris in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Main recommendations

IALA is primarily known for the IALA Maritime Buoyage Systems or

sea mark A sea mark, also seamark and navigation mark, is a form of aid to navigation and pilotage that identifies the approximate position of a maritime channel, hazard, or administrative area to allow boats, ships, and seaplanes to navigate safely. T ...

systems that are used in the

pilotage Piloting or pilotage is the process of navigating on water or in the air using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or air ...

of vessels at sea: http://www.cil.ie/media/11141/IALA-MBS.pdf IALA Maritime Buoyage System * Lateral marks indicate the edges of a channel. *

Cardinal mark Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, th ...

s indicate the direction of safe water at a dangerous spot. *

Safe water mark Examples of Safe Water Marks A safe water mark, as defined by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities, is a sea mark used in maritime pilotage to indicate the end of a channel. They usually imply that open, deep and safe water li ...

s indicate the deep water and open end of a channel. *

Special mark A Special Mark, as defined by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities, is a sea mark used in maritime pilotage. It is recognisable by its yellow colour and X, (also referred to as a St. Andrews Cross or saltire) top-mark. It has a ...

s indicate a special area or feature, e.g. pipe-outfall, areas of: administration/speed restriction/water-skiing, etc. *

Isolated danger mark An Isolated Danger Mark, as defined by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities, is a sea mark used in maritime pilotage to indicate a hazard to shipping such as a partially submerged rock. It is recognisable by its black and red b ...

s indicate a hazard to shipping. * Emergency Wreck Marking Buoy : Temporary interim measure(s) deployed to mark any new wreck, (IALA Recommendation O-133, introduced in 2006). Each type of mark has a distinctive colour, shape and possibly a characteristic light.

IALA sea mark regions

The IALA Maritime Buoyage System defines two regions in the world: IALA region A and IALA region B. Region B covers the whole of the Americas, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, while the rest of the world belongs to the region A.

Sources

The text of "Background" section of this article originated from section 125 of the ''

American Practical Navigator ''The American Practical Navigator'' (colloquially often referred to as ''Bowditch''), originally written by Nathaniel Bowditch, is an encyclopedia of navigation. It serves as a valuable handbook on oceanography and meteorology, and contains usef ...

'', a document produced by the government of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Notes

External links