🇳🇱 Buoyage of Vlissingen · Western Scheldt: put the harbour's buoys back (Netherlands)
© OpenStreetMap · ODbL · Simplified map, not for navigation.
This chart shows the real buoyage of Vlissingen · Western Scheldt (Netherlands), taken from OpenStreetMap on 2026-10-03. 5 marks are missing. IALA region A: coming in from the sea, red to port and green to starboard.
What the chart shows
With 16 marks, the Vlissingen and Western Scheldt chart is the fullest in the game: seven port-hand marks, two starboard-hand, four cardinals (three north, one east) and three special marks. Five are missing: the three north cardinals (SPYROS N, ARV-VH, HET VEER), the port-hand RV 6 and the starboard-hand SS 1.
The Netherlands uses region A. Port-hand marks dominate here (RV 2, RV 6, SG 2, SG 4, OG 20, 22 and 24, all even), while the starboard-hand SS 1 is odd. Three north cardinals give the same instruction: safe water lies to the north. Special marks are yellow; according to R1001, their purpose is read from the chart or nautical documents, the mark itself being able only to indicate it by a pictogram.
The Scheldt radar chain, run jointly by Flanders and the Netherlands, is operated by a team based in Vlissingen. The Flemish government says it covers about 150 km, from the French border to Domburg on the North Sea, then the Scheldt up to the Kallo lock.
Revision questions in the spirit of the exam
- What colour are special marks, and where is their purpose read?
- How do you tell a north cardinal from an east cardinal by the topmark alone?
- Is RV 6 port-hand or starboard-hand, and what colour is its light if it is lit?
Sources
- IALA, Recommendation R1001 (ed. 2.0, June 2023) (facts restated in our own words, text not reproduced)
- OpenStreetMap and OpenSeaMap, survey of 03/10/2026 (ODbL 1.0 licence)
- Vlaanderen.be, Department of Mobility and Public Works: vessel traffic services (Scheldt radar chain) (facts restated in our own words, text not reproduced)
For practice only: do not use for navigation. Refer to up-to-date official charts and documents.
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Data: © OpenStreetMap contributors, under the ODbL 1.0, including seamarks from the OpenSeaMap project. The derived database behind these charts is published under the ODbL: real-zones.json (ODbL), ODbL 1.0. Simplified map, not for navigation.