Why life jackets are orange: colour and reflective tape

Post · 3 October 2026 · Figures reviewed 6 October 2026

The MM MMWVCG work vest in orange, seen from the back, with its reflective panel — The MMWVCG work vest from the back, with its reflective panel. Studio rendering.

Search for life jacket colours and you will find every colour there is. At sea the rules ask for one kind. The International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code asks for life-saving appliances to be international or vivid reddish orange, or a comparably highly visible colour, on every part where colour helps a searcher find them.

Why orange?

A head in the water is a small target, often in a swell. Vivid orange stands out against blue and grey sea, against white foam and against a green shoreline, where dark colours disappear. Yellow is also seen; a dark blue or black jacket is far harder to find.

Reflective tape: found by the searchlight

At night colour cannot be seen until light falls on it. Retro-reflective tape sends a searchlight’s beam straight back towards its source, so a crew sweeping the water sees a bright flash where the jacket is. The LSA Code asks for retro-reflective material on life-saving appliances where it helps detection, and IMO Resolution A.658(16) sets out how it is fitted.

MM lists its jacket-type models, among them the Sea Horse, Stellar, STERN and SUMO, with two reflective tape panels front and back.

The MM Sea Master life jacket in orange with black webbing, reflective patches on the shoulders — The Sea Master, with reflective patches at the shoulders. MM’s photograph, refined for the catalogue.

Marine police officers in MM life jackets boarding a patrol launch — Marine Police safety drive, Gateway of India. MM’s photograph and caption.

Light and whistle finish the job

Colour and tape help a searcher who is already looking in the right place. The light and the whistle bring them there: see life jacket and lifebuoy lights and the whistle test on what the approvals demand.