Seamarks/CEVNI Lateral Marks

Seamark tagging

Lateral marks used in European inland waterways

The tags defined on this page will render in various nautical charts.

There are many more categories of lateral marks than are used in coastal areas. The IALA-A system has been extended by CEVNI to mark the various navigation situations to be found in inland waterways. See also CEVNI notice marks.

Conventions and nomenclature

The IALA-A colours and shape conventions are retained, but with additional variations. An important difference is the terms used to identify the banks of waterways. The terms "Left" and "Right", when used to refer to the waterway banks are those of common usage: The banks are named as seen when facing downstream. This means that when entering a river estuary from the open sea, the right bank is on the port side and the left bank on the starboard side.

Tagging CEVNI lateral marks in OSM

seamark:type=*                                                              ( buoy_lateral | beacon_lateral )
+ seamark:<buoy/beacon_type>:system=cevni
+ seamark:<buoy/beacon_type>:category=*
+ seamark:<buoy/beacon_type>:shape=*
+ seamark:<buoy/beacon_type>:colour=*
[+ seamark:<buoy/beacon_type>:colour_pattern=*]
+ ...

The table below details the values to be used for "seamark:lateral_buoy:category" and "seamark:lateral_beacon:category" tags. Note that the some colours and/or shapes are used for more than category. The context of a mark must be considered when assigning it to a category. Many marks are mounted on poles which may or may not be painted in a navigationally significant colour. These marks should take the type "beacon_lateral" with a shape value of "pole", "post" or "stake". Where the colour of the support is of no navigational significance, its colour tag may be omitted.

Mark	seamark:buoy_lateral:category seamark:beacon_lateral:category	Where used
Port-hand lateral mark	port	Marks the port side limit of the fairway when heading inland. This will be towards the right bank.
Starboard-hand lateral mark	starboard	Marks the starboard side limit of the fairway when heading inland. This will be towards the left bank.
Preferred channel to starboard lateral mark	preferred_channel_starboard	Where the fairway divides either way around an obstacle, the primary channel is to the starboard side of this mark.
Preferred channel to port lateral mark	preferred_channel_port	Where the fairway divides either way around an obstacle, the primary channel is to the port side of this mark.
Right-hand side of the waterway	waterway_right	Marks the limit of the waterway closest to the right bank.
Left-hand side of the waterway	waterway_left	Marks the limit of the waterway closest to the left bank.
Right-hand side of the channel	channel_right	Marks the limit of a channel closest to the right bank.
Left-hand side of the channel	channel_left	Marks the limit of a channel closest to the left bank.
Bifurcation of the waterway	waterway_separation	Marks the conjunction of two waterways.
Bifurcation of the fairway	channel_separation	Marks the conjunction of two channels within a waterway.
Channel near the right bank	channel_right_bank	The navigable channel lays closest to the right bank.
Channel near the left bank	channel_left_bank	The navigable channel lays closest to the left bank.
Channel cross-over to the right bank	crossover_right	The navigable channel crosses over to the right bank.
Channel cross-over to the left bank	crossover_left	The navigable channel crosses over to the left bank.
Danger point or obstacles at the right-hand side	danger_right	Marks obstacles close to the right bank.
Danger point or obstacles at the left-hand side	danger_left	Marks obstacles close to the left bank.
Turn off at the right-hand side	turnoff_right	Indicates a turn off at the right-hand side.
Turn off at the left-hand side	turnoff_left	Indicates a turn off at the left-hand side.
Junction at the right-hand side	junction_right	Indicates a junction at the right-hand side.
Junction at the left-hand side	junction_left	Indicates a junction at the left-hand side.
Harbour entry at the right-hand side	harbour_right	Indicates a harbour entry at the right-hand side.
Harbour entry at the left-hand side	harbour_left	Indicates a harbour entry at the left-hand side.
Bridge pier mark	bridge_pier	Marks the presence of bridge piers.