Cardinal Marks

Named after the cardinal parts of the compass, North, East, South, and West, cardinal marks indicate the position of a danger and the direction of the safe side on which to pass it. Cardinal Marks are constant in both IALA buoyage systems with distinctive yellow and black colours, topmarks, and white lights.

North Cardinal Mark

Colour	Black over Yellow
Shapes	Any shape but most commonly pillar or spar
Top Marks	Two cones pointing up
Lights	White, Q or VQ
Chart Symbol

East Cardinal Mark

Colour	Black Yellow Black
Shapes	Any shape but most commonly pillar or spar
Top Marks	Two cones pointing away from each other
Lights	White, Q(3) 15s or VQ(3) 5s
Chart Symbol

South Cardinal Mark

Colour	Yellow over Black
Shapes	Any shape but most commonly pillar or spar
Top Marks	Two cones pointing down
Lights	White, Q(6) + LFl 15s or VQ(6) + LFl 10s
Chart Symbol