The Special Commission for Sport & Pleasure Navigation (SPN) of PIANC, the ICOMIA Boating Facilities Committee (IBFC) and EUROMARINA identified a need for standard pictograms to be applied in and around marinas, as well as to maps, tourist guides, exhibitions and so on. It was decided that these organisations would join forces to compile a list of pictograms for pleasure navigation. This document was produced by Mr. J.U. Brolsma on behalf of PIANC and Mrs. E.G.M. van der Meer on behalf of ICOMIA”s Boating Facilities Committee. The art-work was done by Mr. B. Verbaan of Rijkswaterstaat, Dutch Transport Research Centre.

The pictograms are designed to offer additional information for pleasure navigation. They are not to be considered as traffic signs. Traffic signs are described in the document European Code for Inland Waterways (Code Européen des Voies de Navigation Interieure) of November 1985 from the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations, Geneva. These traffic signs were among others taken from the Rhine Police Regulations (Reglement de Police pour la Navigation du Rhin) and several other national regulations in Europe. These pictograms are not intended to replace regulatory traffic signs.

The pictograms in this book should be understood as agreed PIANC/ICOMIA/EUROMARINA recommendations. The use of other symbols cannot be forbidden, nor can occasional differences in the reproduction of the symbols be avoided. In the long term however, the standard pictograms should be adopted as a matter of course.