Aids to Navigation — Road Signs of the Waterway

Report Aids To Navigation Defects to the Coast Guard

TAKE TIME TO REFLECT ON SAFETY . . .
SAFE BOATING BEGINS WITH YOU!

Boaters need to realize the Coast Guard cannot keep the thousands of aids to navigation comprising the U.S. Aids to Navigation System under continual observation. It is impossible to maintain every aid to navigation at all times. Therefore, for the safety of all boaters, if you discover that an Aid to Navigation is:

• missing
• damaged
• moved from its original position
• displaying an improper signal (light color or timing incorrect,
  sound signal not functioning)
• a hazard to navigation

Report this information by radio or phone to the nearest Coast Guard Unit or Coast Guard Distict Aids To Navigation Office.

ALL AIDS TO NAVIGATION ARE PROTECTED BY LAW

It's a criminal offense to cause any damage or hindrance to the proper operation of any aid.

Do not alter, deface, move or destroy any aid to navigation. Never tie a vessel to a buoy, daybeacon or light structure.

Avoid anchoring so close to an aid that the aid is obstructed (hidden) from sight of another vessel.

Report all intentional or unintentional collisions with navigation aids to the U.S. Coast Guard.