A wreck buoy usually cannot be placed directly over the wreck it is intended to mark because the buoy tender may not want to pass over a shallow wreck or risk fouling the buoy mooring. For this reason, a wreck buoy is usually placed as closely as possible on the seaward or channelward side of a wreck. In some situations, two buoys may be used to mark the wreck, one lying off each end. The wreck may lie directly between them or inshore of a line between them, depending on the local situation. The Local Notice To Mariners should be consulted concerning details of the placement of wreck buoys on individual wrecks. Often it will also give particulars of the wreck and what activities may be in progress to clear it.

The charted position of a wreck buoy will usually be offset from the actual geographic position so that the wreck and buoy symbols do not coincide. Only on the largest scale chart will the actual and charted positions of both wreck and buoy be the same. Where they might overlap, it is the wreck symbol which occupies the exact charted position and the buoy symbol which is offset.

Wreck buoys are required to be placed by the owner of the wreck, but they may be placed by the Coast Guard if the owner is unable to comply with this requirement. In general, privately placed aids are not as reliable as Coast Guard aids.

Sunken wrecks are sometimes moved away from their buoys by storms, currents, freshets, or other causes. Just as shoals may shift away from the buoys placed to mark them, wrecks may shift away from wreck buoys.

• Long range identification and tracking-LRIT - 2010-01-12 - 10:30:50
• Navigation Equipment - 2010-01-11 - 11:35:38
• Private Aids To Navigation - 2009-04-02 - 03:49:46
• Limitations Of Sound Signals - 2009-04-02 - 03:06:28
• Types Of Sound Signals - 2009-04-02 - 02:55:51
• Description Of The U.S. Aids to Navigation System - 2009-04-02 - 02:31:02
• Chart Symbols And Abbreviations - 2009-04-02 - 02:13:58
• Buoyage System - IALA New Dangers - 2009-04-02 - 02:00:57
• Buoyage System - IALA Special Marks - 2009-04-02 - 01:47:49
• Buoyage System - IALA Safe Water Marks - 2009-04-02 - 01:31:10

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