Safe Water Mark

A navigation mark indicating navigable water around the mark.

Under the IALA Maritime Buoyage System, a safe water mark has red-and-white vertical stripes and, when fitted, a single red spherical topmark. Its white light uses one of the characteristics allocated to this type of mark.

It may mark a channel centreline, mid-channel point, landfall or the seaward end of an approach and is sometimes called a fairway mark. “Safe water” means that water is navigable around the mark in the charted context; it is not a guarantee of unrestricted depth for every vessel or of freedom from traffic and other hazards.