IALA Buoyage Practice Questions for the MCA Orals

OOW Part A: 3 of the 15 questions, 90% to pass this topic

The real MCA oral is a spoken interview with an examiner; these questions are knowledge practice for it, each with a model answer.

Take the OOW Part A practice test

60 test points across every Part A topic in 40 minutes, scored against the MCA’s minimum for each topic.

Free IALA Buoyage drill
Free sample · Question 1 of 3IALA Buoyage

How many flashes per minute does a "very quick" flashing light show in the IALA system?

Choose the best answer

IALA Systems of Buoyage in the MCA orals

The IALA Maritime Buoyage System is the second 90% topic on OOW Part A: three questions, twelve test points. In the oral the examiner shows a mark, by day or by its light at night, and asks what it is, where the danger lies and which side you pass. IALA Recommendation R1001 defines the system.

On Part A
12 of the 60 test points (3 of 15 questions); you need 90%, 11 of 12
In the oral
The examiner can ask about any part of the syllabus, in scenarios. Say your answer out loud before you check it.
Our drill
10 questions from 48 IALA Buoyage questions, untimed, a model answer after every one; one free attempt, unlimited with a pass
Line drawing of a harbour entrance between two breakwaters, with a small lighthouse on one and hills behind
Start the free IALA Buoyage drill

Study notes

  • Lateral marks show the port and starboard sides of a channel in the conventional direction of buoyage (generally the direction a ship takes when approaching a harbour from seaward). Region A: port red, can or pillar, red can topmark; starboard green, cone or pillar, green cone topmark (point up). Region B reverses the colours: port green, starboard red.
  • Region B covers North, Central and South America, Japan, Korea and the Philippines; the rest of the world, including the UK and Europe, uses Region A. Shapes and topmarks are the same in both regions.
  • Preferred channel marks (Region A): preferred channel to starboard is red with one broad green band and a red can topmark; preferred channel to port is green with one broad red band and a green cone topmark. The light is composite group flashing (2+1).
  • Cardinal marks are black and yellow with two black cone topmarks, placed in the named quadrant of the danger: north (points up, black over yellow), south (points down, yellow over black), east (base to base, black with a yellow band), west (point to point, yellow with a black band). You pass on the named side.
  • Cardinal lights are white, very quick or quick: north continuous, east three flashes, south six plus one long flash, west nine. The flash counts follow a clock face (3, 6, 9 o’clock).
  • Isolated danger: black with one or more broad red bands, two black balls, white Fl(2). Safe water: red and white vertical stripes, one red ball, white isophase, occulting, one long flash every 10 seconds or Morse A. Special mark: yellow, yellow X topmark, yellow light.
  • Emergency wreck marking: blue and yellow vertical stripes, a yellow upright cross topmark, and a light alternating blue and yellow (Bu 1 s and Y 1 s with 0.5 s eclipses). It is laid for new wrecks not yet in nautical publications.

Sit the Part A practice test under the clock

Take the OOW Part A practice test

60 test points across every Part A topic in 40 minutes, scored against the MCA’s minimum for each topic.

Free IALA Buoyage drill

What the examiner looks for

  • Naming a mark from its shape, colour, topmark and light, by day and at night (MIN 653: thorough knowledge of the IALA systems of maritime buoyage).
  • Saying which side to pass and where the danger lies, and how the direction of buoyage is set.
  • The difference between Region A and Region B and where each applies.
  • Knowing which marks never change with region (cardinal, isolated danger, safe water, special, emergency wreck).

How to study it

  • Learn the cardinal topmarks with the light rhythm together: points up north and continuous, points down south and six plus a long flash.
  • Draw each mark from memory with its topmark and light, then check it against the drawings in the drill.
  • Practise naming marks from the light alone: a white Q(6)+LFl is south cardinal, a white Fl(2) is isolated danger.
  • Take the IALA buoyage drill until you score 90% or better.

Common questions

How many buoyage questions are on MCA Part A?

Three of the fifteen questions, twelve of the sixty test points, and you need at least 90% of them.

Does the UK use IALA Region A or B?

Region A. Port-hand marks are red and starboard-hand marks green in the direction of buoyage. Region B, used in the Americas, Japan, Korea and the Philippines, reverses the lateral colours.

Take the OOW Part A practice test

60 test points across every Part A topic in 40 minutes, scored against the MCA’s minimum for each topic.

Free IALA Buoyage drill

The other MCA orals topics

Sources

The MCA oral is a spoken interview with an MCA examiner. These are knowledge drills for it, with the model answer an examiner would expect after every question; they are not a simulation of the interview. The timed test copies the format of the OOW Part A computer-based exam. Original practice questions written from the MCA deck oral exam syllabus (MIN 653), the COLREG 1972 as applied by MSN 1781 and the IALA Maritime Buoyage System; they are not MCA questions or questions reported by candidates. The real oral is a spoken interview with an MCA examiner, and this is knowledge practice for it, not a simulation of the interview. Independent practice, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.