Both lateral spar buoys and spar buoys are types of buoys used for ocean and waterway navigation, but they have some differences in design and use:

Different Features:

Spar Buoy:

A spar buoy is a buoy that is fixed to the water surface and stabilized by the principle of deep-water buoyancy. It is usually connected to the seabed by a vertical, heavy pile (or buoy) and a long chain or steel cable.

The main feature of a spar buoy is that it can be stable in wind and waves and is not easy to overturn, so it is very suitable for use in deep water areas. It is often used for positioning identification of deep-sea oil and gas platforms, or as a navigation buoy to mark waterways.

Lateral Spar Buoy:

A lateral spar buoy is a specific type of pile buoy, usually used for marking waterways, and is a type of Lateral Marker. Its main function is to indicate the waterway boundaries on both sides of the waterway. Typically, lateral spar buoys use different colors or lights (such as red or green) to indicate different directions of the channel to help ships navigate. In some systems (such as the International Maritime Signal Marker), green lateral buoys indicate the right channel and red ones indicate the left channel.

Main Differences:

Use: Ordinary spar buoys are more widely used in deep water areas, offshore platform positioning, etc., while lateral spar buoys are mainly used as channel marking buoys to indicate the boundaries of waterways.

Function: Lateral spar buoys focus more on channel guidance and safe navigation, using different colors or symbols to provide information on channel direction; while ordinary spar buoys may only be used to mark a fixed location, or as a floating reference point

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