bollard

A bollard is a post, typically made of metal or wood, used for mooring ships. It is secured to a wharf or dock, and ships tie their mooring lines around it. This allows vessels to be secured in place, especially in crowded harbors where space is limited.1

Bollards can also serve as traffic delimiters, marking areas like traffic islands or preventing vehicles from entering certain zones, particularly in British usage. While similar in function to mooring buoys, which also serve as points for vessels to tie up to, bollards are fixed structures on land, whereas buoys are floating objects.12