BUOYAGE · FOR OFFICERS AND CADETS
IALA buoyage regions A and B
The IALA Maritime Buoyage System has two regions that differ only in the colour of lateral marks. Entering harbour, region A puts red to port; region B puts red to starboard. Region B is the Americas, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines; almost everywhere else is region A.
Region B: red to starboard (50 countries)
- Argentina31 ports
- Bahamas7 ports
- Barbados1 port
- Belize2 ports
- Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba2 ports
- Brazil59 ports
- British Virgin Islands1 port
- Canada153 ports
- Cayman Islands1 port
- Chile38 ports
- Colombia11 ports
- Costa Rica5 ports
- Cuba13 ports
- Curaçao4 ports
- Dominica1 port
- Dominican Republic12 ports
- Ecuador6 ports
- El Salvador1 port
- Falkland Islands1 port
- French Guiana2 ports
- Grenada1 port
- Guadeloupe3 ports
- Guatemala3 ports
- Guyana2 ports
- Haiti9 ports
- Honduras4 ports
- Jamaica10 ports
- Japan173 ports
- Martinique1 port
- Mexico35 ports
- Montserrat1 port
- Nicaragua5 ports
- Panama14 ports
- Paraguay1 port
- Peru24 ports
- Philippines53 ports
- Puerto Rico9 ports
- Saint Kitts and Nevis2 ports
- Saint Lucia2 ports
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon2 ports
- Saint Vincent and Grenadines1 port
- Sint Maarten1 port
- South Korea25 ports
- Suriname5 ports
- Trinidad and Tobago9 ports
- Turks and Caicos Islands2 ports
- U.S. Virgin Islands5 ports
- United States204 ports
- Uruguay9 ports
- Venezuela28 ports
Region A: red to port (142 countries)
- Albania5 ports
- Algeria14 ports
- American Samoa1 port
- Angola15 ports
- Australia75 ports
- Azerbaijan1 port
- Bahrain3 ports
- Bangladesh3 ports
- Belgium10 ports
- Benin2 ports
- British Indian Ocean Territory1 port
- Brunei3 ports
- Bulgaria4 ports
- Cambodia2 ports
- Cameroon7 ports
- Cape Verde6 ports
- China112 ports
- Comoros3 ports
- Cook Islands1 port
- Côte d’Ivoire3 ports
- Croatia23 ports
- Cyprus9 ports
- Denmark76 ports
- Djibouti2 ports
- DR Congo4 ports
- Egypt27 ports
- Equatorial Guinea4 ports
- Eritrea2 ports
- Estonia16 ports
- Faroe Islands10 ports
- Fiji5 ports
- Finland44 ports
- France48 ports
- French Polynesia3 ports
- Gabon5 ports
- Gambia1 port
- Georgia5 ports
- Germany58 ports
- Ghana3 ports
- Gibraltar1 port
- Greece76 ports
- Greenland14 ports
- Guam1 port
- Guernsey2 ports
- Guinea4 ports
- Guinea-Bissau1 port
- Hong Kong3 ports
- Iceland31 ports
- India56 ports
- Indonesia143 ports
- Iran18 ports
- Iraq5 ports
- Ireland24 ports
- Isle of Man3 ports
- Israel5 ports
- Italy95 ports
- Jersey1 port
- Jordan1 port
- Kazakhstan1 port
- Kenya2 ports
- Kiribati1 port
- Kuwait6 ports
- Latvia8 ports
- Lebanon7 ports
- Liberia4 ports
- Libya12 ports
- Lithuania2 ports
- Macao1 port
- Madagascar10 ports
- Malaysia41 ports
- Maldives1 port
- Malta3 ports
- Marshall Islands2 ports
- Mauritania3 ports
- Mauritius1 port
- Mayotte1 port
- Micronesia2 ports
- Moldova1 port
- Monaco1 port
- Montenegro3 ports
- Morocco13 ports
- Mozambique7 ports
- Myanmar5 ports
- Namibia2 ports
- Nauru1 port
- Netherlands23 ports
- New Caledonia9 ports
- New Zealand20 ports
- Nigeria23 ports
- Niue1 port
- North Korea7 ports
- Northern Mariana Islands1 port
- Norway142 ports
- Oman7 ports
- Pakistan3 ports
- Palau1 port
- Papua New Guinea19 ports
- Poland9 ports
- Portugal19 ports
- Qatar5 ports
- Republic of the Congo3 ports
- Romania12 ports
- Russia79 ports
- Saint Helena1 port
- Samoa1 port
- São Tomé and Príncipe1 port
- Saudi Arabia14 ports
- Senegal3 ports
- Seychelles1 port
- Sierra Leone4 ports
- Singapore1 port
- Slovenia2 ports
- Solomon Islands5 ports
- Somalia4 ports
- South Africa7 ports
- South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands1 port
- Spain70 ports
- Sri Lanka6 ports
- Sudan2 ports
- Svalbard and Jan Mayen3 ports
- Sweden91 ports
- Switzerland1 port
- Syria2 ports
- Taiwan9 ports
- Tanzania6 ports
- Thailand20 ports
- Timor-Leste1 port
- Togo2 ports
- Tonga3 ports
- Tunisia10 ports
- Türkiye57 ports
- Turkmenistan1 port
- Tuvalu1 port
- Ukraine19 ports
- United Arab Emirates24 ports
- United Kingdom152 ports
- US Outlying Islands1 port
- Vanuatu2 ports
- Vietnam30 ports
- Wallis and Futuna1 port
- Western Sahara1 port
- Yemen7 ports
Questions officers and cadets ask
What is the difference between IALA A and IALA B?
Only the lateral marks swap colour. Entering harbour from seaward, IALA A has red on the port side and green to starboard; IALA B has red to starboard and green to port ("red right returning"). Cardinal, isolated danger, safe water and special marks are the same in both.
Which countries use IALA region B?
North, Central and South America, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. Of the countries with NaviBoss port guides, 50 are in region B: Argentina, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Brazil, the British Virgin Islands, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia and Costa Rica and others listed on this page.
Is the Philippines IALA A or B?
IALA B: red to starboard when entering harbour, like Japan, Korea and the Americas, even though most of its neighbours use IALA A.
Which way is 'entering harbour' where it is not obvious?
Where the direction is not clear, each country defines a conventional direction of buoyage, usually clockwise round a landmass. It is marked on the chart with a large arrow.
More guides
Every port's region and pilot station
Each NaviBoss port guide gives the IALA region, the pilot boarding place, local time, water density and the maximum draft per terminal.
Open the Ports tool →About our guides
NaviBoss guides are written and checked by maritime industry experts, masters and deck officers. Each one is built from the same data the planner uses, dated, and rebuilt when that data changes. Spotted something wrong? Tell us on the feedback board.
A planning aid, not for navigation. Check official charts and publications, the latest notices and your company's instructions before you rely on any figure here.