Since maritime trade has entered our lives from past to present, seafarers need reliable navigational aids. It was the Pharos lighthouse in Egypt that was available to Alexandria. Among the navigational aids, buoys, lanterns, and strobes were very popular. Today, we still see these important helpers continue to be used as popular. Among these, we want to give detailed information about buoys and examine how they can be updated from past to present.

Buoys, one of the most important cruise aids of seafarers, are discovered in difficult sea conditions. Information about the oldest floating buoy in 1296 takes place in the Mediterranean portal called Lo Compasso do Navigare. This important float is designed to alert sailors approaching the port of Seville. These end-floating buoys think thinking before the 13th century. The passage of the buoys used to guide the sailors in the northern European waters is about 30 years later. They were located at the mouth of the Vlie River and guided ships traveling to trade centers such as Kampen and Amsterdam. The first buoys are between two empty wooden barrels connected by iron hoops. Some fees, called lantern fees, were collected from merchants and seas for the maintenance of these buoys. The responsible bodies of the buoys were port authorities. About two centuries later, governments would be responsible for these buoys.

By 1814 the king of England VIII. In line with the demands of the seafarers' guild, a professional organization established by the seafarers, Henry provided several privileges for the maintenance of these city assistants. In line with the initiative of the king, a foundation called Trinty House was established and until 1594, it collected the operating income of navigation aids and lighthouses. Since 1594, the privilege of placing and constructing occasional buoys and floating signs has been granted. Until this time, the fees received from the ships were taxed on a two-masted vessel 6 pens, a single-masted vessel 4 pens and 2 pens for all other ships. The duty of collecting taxes was with customs officers. Unfortunately, however, it could not be said that tax officers are fully honest. Often the money collected for buoys did not reach where it should be. Afterward, the taxes collected as a remedy for this situation would be made against the receipt and recorded. It was thought with a suspicion that the navigational aids, which were extremely important in the 16th and 17th centuries, were thought to guide the enemy during the war periods. To prevent this situation, it was thought that it was necessary to remove the buoys and extinguish the lighthouses when they saw them as a threat. The first practice in response to this idea was applied during the Dutch war between 1665 and 1667. During the war, this practice caused more damage to British Warships and a large number of British ships sank. The extinguishing and dismantling of these lighthouses were later applied in the Nore revolt in 1797. The application is finally I. and II. It was applied during World War II and the lights were only lit for British and allied ships.

XVII. By the turn of the century, the fact that maritime trade has vital importance in the world has increased the need for reliable sea routes. It is only possible to provide safety on a wide range of sea routes by marking dangerous water. As a result, the number of cruise aids placed around the commercial ports of the world had increased considerably. The lack of a specific standard in these navigational aids caused important questions for shipmasters. Since there was no legal regulation on this issue, port officials were performing independently on the float election day. For this reason, there were physical differences between the selected buoys. XVIII. and XIX. The buoys generally used between the centuries were made of juniper logs or cedars. Barrels with barrels continued as the most common type of buoy until the 1840s. The first float system, which started to be used as a standard, was accepted in the United States Congress in 1848 and is the "lateral float system" still used today. Under the conditions of the period, the maintenance and placement of the buoys were carried out by the port operations. However, buoys could not be placed in the correct positions most of the time because the boats used in the towing process were insufficient and the maneuverability of the sailing boats was not sufficient. Since the businesses were float suppliers, they were producing buoys in line with their capacities. For this reason, the buoys produced were small and difficult to spot at sea. By 1852, the American Lighthouse Board decided that the buoys would have different types in 3 categories. Accordingly, all types of buoys were started to be used in different regions.

Over time, as steam technology began to develop, the size of the ships began to grow in the same way. Light and sound systems were also needed to detect the mark buoys placed. At the beginning of the 19th century, many light float models were produced in this direction, but none of them were suitable for working undersea conditions. The buoys with a simple system and bell were developed later, and the new system buoys developed after him were examples. Float systems with many new designs have been developed and patented under the conditions of the period. The most successful float developed in the 19th century is the Courtenay float developed by John Courtenay. This float, which was tested and found successful in 1878, started to be used in all important points. XX. By the beginning of the century, the development of floats will continue. The use of these floats I. and II. It had increased and gained importance during World War II. In the 1940s, with the development of technology, plastic floats were started to be produced. When the data showed in 1976, there were more than 30 float systems that are widely used worldwide. Among them were even opposite systems, as the principle of operation. Another situation that differed from the use of buoys was the subject of placement. While the lateral float system was used in many countries, the cardinal float system, which was used to show dangerous waters in many countries, was preferred.

The first standard float system, intended to be used in the world, was prepared in 1936 under the supervision of the League of Nations. However, the agreement was unfortunately not approved upon the start of the Second World War. According to the agreement, both float systems could be used. After World War II, the navigational aids of most of the countries were destroyed. They had to be urgently repaired to make safe navigation at sea possible again. Due to the absence of a better arrangement at home during the period conditions, cruise aids were adapted according to local standards within the Geneva rules. This, unfortunately, caused different systems to be used in many different parts of the world. Although the differences between the systems were tried to be eliminated with the International Association of Lighthouses established in 1957, this was only possible by the 1970s. In 1976, both cardinal and lateral float systems began to be developed by the International Maritime Organization and in 1980 the system was adopted. This system, which is accepted and used in our country, is used in almost all of Australia, Europe, New Zealand, the Middle East, Africa, and Asian countries. A similar system with small differences is preferred in South, North and Central America, Japan, the Philippines, and Korea. This is how the development of buoys continues among navigational aids.