Define "buoyage system."

The buoyage system refers specifically to a structured system of navigation aids that includes buoys and beacons designed to mark safe navigational routes for vessels. This system is essential for guiding mariners through hazardous waters, ensuring they can navigate safely while avoiding obstacles such as rocks, shallow areas, or other dangers. Each buoy and beacon has specific characteristics, such as color, shape, and light patterns, which convey information about the surrounding water conditions, channel alignments, or hazards.

In maritime navigation, the buoyage system is typically aligned with international standards, like those set by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA), which helps ensure consistency in navigation aids across different regions. This system plays a vital role in marine safety and efficient navigation, especially in crowded or complex waterway environments.

Other choices do not define the buoyage system correctly. The environmental impact of shipping pertains to ecological considerations rather than navigational aids, navigational charts focus on representing geographic aspects of coastal waters rather than the signaling elements used for safe navigation, and methods of charting depths in harbors relate to surveying rather than the systematic placement of buoys and beacons.