Canadian Ice Service Colour Code
Overview
The colour code is intended to assist navigation decisions in ice infested water. It is loosely based on the concept of a traffic light, where green means proceed, yellow means caution and red signals danger. The objective of the colour code application is to enable a person to quickly assess general ice conditions. A ship sailing in a given area can easily assess the general ice conditions and, hence, qualify the difficulty or ease to either navigate through easily, reduce speed or stop the ship. However, this does not consider other variables (such as winds, currents or ship design) which are important considerations in any ice navigation decision. The most detailed ice information continues to reside in the ice egg codes. How to Interpret the Colour Code The following information is intended to assist ship navigators with the interpretation of colour codes used on ice charts. Open or Bergy Water Areas of open water or bergy water are coloured blue. Open or bergy water Presence of Ice For ice concentration of one tenth or greater, the ice type must be separated into two categories: less than 15 cm and greater than 15 cm thickness. Ice Types Thicker than 15 Cm The colour for a given ice area is determined by the total concentration of the ice types thicker than 15 cm. less than 1/10 of ice >15 cm but at least 1 tenth of thinner ice types present 1 to 3 tenths of ice >15 cm 4 to 6 tenths of ice > 15 cm 7 to 8 tenths of ice > 15 cm 9-10 tenths of ice > 15 cm 5 to 10 tenths old ice ( takes precedence over the other colours) If there are other ice types present, the following symbols would be added to the above colours: 1/10 or more of new ice ( less than 10 cm). Would not be visible if equal or greater amount of grey ice is present. ...
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Updated: 20 March 2024
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