Encyclopedia > International Association of Lighthouse Authorities
International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (or IALA for short) is a non-profit organization founded 1957 to collect and provide nautical expertise and advise. Its office is located in St. Germain-en-laye, France.
The IALA is primarily known for its buoyage or sea mark systems that are used in the pilotage of vessels at sea:
The "rules of the road" or International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) set forth by the International Maritime Organization are particularly relevant to sailors because of their limited maneuverability compared to powered vessels.
The IALAInternationalAssociation of LighthouseAuthorities standards for lateral marks, lights, signals, and buoyage and various rules designed to support safe navigation.
The sport of Sailboat racing is governed by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), and the rules under which competitors race are the Racing Rules of Sailing, which can be found on the ISAF web site.
The shape, color, number, and marking of the buoy are all significant, but unfortunately there are two competing systems of color coding which have been adopted in different parts of the world.
The InternationalAssociation of LighthouseAuthorities (IALA) adopted a system in 1977 which uses red for the left-hand side of a channel returning from the sea and green for the right side.
Both systems use yellow to indicate special zones, such as fishing areas, anchorages, dredging operations, etc. Although the spar buoys (upright posts) used in northern latitudes are usually wooden, large buoys are generally made of steel or iron.
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