Hazardous operations
NGA's heading for activities that make an area dangerous — most often rocket launches, space debris and weapons firings, and some open-ended danger areas.
"HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS" introduces warnings about areas where something may fall from the sky or be fired: rocket launches and their drop zones, space debris re-entry, missile tests and gunnery. The heading is usually followed by the activity, daily time windows and the coordinates of the affected area.
Launch and firing warnings are among the most precisely defined in the archive — polygons with start and end times. The same heading is also used without any end: several Black Sea areas off Ukraine and Romania have been broadcast since 2022 as "HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE", with no activity named. Where a warning gives time windows, seahazards reads them so the map can show when each area is active.
What the archive shows
30,382 messages in this archive use “Hazardous operations”, the earliest issued 1993-07-08 and the latest 2026-09-23. 15 of them are in force in the latest lists we collected. A hazard reported again and again counts once per message.
The largest yearly count is 2020, with 2,299 messages. Collection is incomplete between 2024-05 and 2026-08-17, so 2024, 2025 and 2026 are not comparable with fully collected years.
Exercises accounts for 24,977 of 30,382 recorded messages (82%), the largest warning type group in this selection.
Located messages that use it fall in 67 sea areas; the most frequent are North Pacific Ocean (4,854), North Atlantic Ocean (3,219) and Bay of Bengal (2,365).
Its use is spread fairly evenly through the year: the busiest month, September, has 3,009 messages and the quietest, July, 2,191.
By warning series: HYDROPAC 14,580, HYDROLANT 8,578, NAVAREA IV 3,062 and NAVAREA XII 3,017, and 2 more.
Messages using it, by year of issue
By month of issue, all years
Where it appears · 67 sea areas
- North Pacific Ocean 4,854
- North Atlantic Ocean 3,219
- Bay of Bengal 2,365
- South Atlantic Ocean 1,876
- Arabian Sea 1,762
- South Pacific Ocean 1,723
- Laccadive Sea 1,395
- Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin 1,362
- Black Sea 1,361
- Aegean Sea 804
- Indian Ocean 677
- Barentsz Sea 617
In force now · 15
- HYDROPAC 2712/26 · Exercises · Arabian Sea2026-09-18 · in force
ARABIAN SEA. PAKISTAN. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 0300Z TO 1200Z DAILY 25 AND 26 SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 25-12.00N 064-27.83E, 25-12.00N…
Hazardous operations 0300Z to 1200Z daily 25 and 26 sep in area bound by 25-12.00N 064-27.83E, 25-12.00N… → - HYDROPAC 2709/26 · Exercises · Bay of Bengal2026-09-18 · in force
BAY OF BENGAL. INDIA. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 0700Z TO 1200Z DAILY 22 THRU 24 SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 17-06.00N 082-21.60E, 17-06.00N…
Hazardous operations 0700Z to 1200Z daily 22 thru 24 sep in area bound by 17-06.00N 082-21.60E, 17-06.00N… → - HYDROPAC 2707/26 · Exercises · Bay of Bengal2026-09-18 · in force
BAY OF BENGAL. INDIA. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 0130Z TO 1130Z DAILY 21 THRU 24 SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 12-49.00N 080-46.00E, 12-59.00N…
Hazardous operations 0130Z to 1130Z daily 21 thru 24 sep in area bound by 12-49.00N 080-46.00E, 12-59.00N… → - HYDROPAC 2705/26 · Exercises · Bay of Bengal2026-09-18 · in force
BAY OF BENGAL. INDIA. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 211330Z TO 241530Z SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 16-20.10N 084-29.30E, 16-01.80N 087-23.30E,…
Hazardous operations 211330Z to 241530Z sep in area bound by 16-20.10N 084-29.30E, 16-01.80N 087-23.30E,… → - HYDROLANT 1852/26 · Exercises · South Atlantic Ocean2026-09-18 · in force
SOUTH ATLANTIC. BRAZIL. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 230800Z TO 252130Z SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 30-15.00S 049-54.50W, 30-15.00S 050-06.75W,…
Hazardous operations 230800Z to 252130Z sep in area bound by 30-15.00S 049-54.50W, 30-15.00S 050-06.75W,… → - HYDROPAC 2429/26 · Exercises · Arabian Sea2026-08-25 · in force
ARABIAN SEA. PAKISTAN. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 0300Z TO 1300Z DAILY 26 AUG, 02, 09, 16, 23 AND 30 SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 24-50.26N…
Hazardous operations 0300Z to 1300Z daily 26 aug, 02, 09, 16, 23 and 30 sep in area bound by 24-50.26N… →
How it reads in recent messages
- HYDROPAC 2760/26 · Exercises · Arabian Sea2026-09-23
GULF OF KHAMBHAT. INDIA. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 250230Z TO 251130Z SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 20-26.00N 072-27.00E, 20-26.00N 072-40.00E,…
Hazardous operations 250230Z to 251130Z sep in area bound by 20-26.00N 072-27.00E, 20-26.00N 072-40.00E,… → - NAVAREA XII 657/26 · Missiles2026-09-23
NORTH PACIFIC. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS 1427Z TO 1833Z DAILY 28 SEP THRU 04 OCT IN AREA BOUND BY 23-55.00N…
Hazardous operations, space debris 1427Z to 1833Z daily 28 sep thru 04 oct in area bound by 23-55.00N… → - HYDROPAC 2761/26 · Missiles2026-09-23
NORTH PACIFIC. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, SPACE DEBRIS 1427Z TO 1833Z DAILY 28 SEP THRU 04 OCT IN AREA BOUND BY 23-55.00N…
Hazardous operations, space debris 1427Z to 1833Z daily 28 sep thru 04 oct in area bound by 23-55.00N… → - HYDROPAC 2759/26 · Exercises · Laccadive Sea2026-09-23
EASTERN INDIAN OCEAN. INDIA. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 241330Z TO 241730Z SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 09-35.00N 075-11.00E, 09-35.00N 075-27.00E,…
Hazardous operations 241330Z to 241730Z sep in area bound by 09-35.00N 075-11.00E, 09-35.00N 075-27.00E,… → - HYDROPAC 2758/26 · Exercises · Bay of Bengal2026-09-23
BAY OF BENGAL. INDIA. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS UNTIL 251829Z SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 19-14.60N 084-53.70E, 19-07.39N…
Hazardous operations in progress until 251829Z sep in area bound by 19-14.60N 084-53.70E, 19-07.39N… → - HYDROLANT 1882/26 · Exercises · South Atlantic Ocean2026-09-23
SOUTH ATLANTIC. BRAZIL. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 281100Z TO 291800Z SEP IN AREA WITHIN TEN MILES OF 14-22.00S 038-34.00W. 2. CANCEL THIS…
Hazardous operations 281100Z to 291800Z sep in area within ten miles of 14-22.00S 038-34.00W → - HYDROPAC 2754/26 · Exercises · Philippine Sea2026-09-23
NORTH PACIFIC. PHILIPPINE SEA. GUAM. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 0100Z TO 1300Z DAILY 28 THRU 30 SEP AND 01 OCT IN AREAS WITHIN THREE MILES OF: A.…
Hazardous operations 0100Z to 1300Z daily 28 thru 30 sep and 01 oct in areas within three miles of: a.… → - HYDROPAC 2753/26 · Exercises · North Pacific Ocean2026-09-23
NORTH PACIFIC. GUAM. 1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 2200Z TO 1000Z DAILY 28 THRU 30 SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 12-40.00N 144-45.00E, 11-00.00N…
Hazardous operations 2200Z to 1000Z daily 28 thru 30 sep in area bound by 12-40.00N 144-45.00E, 11-00.00N… →
Earliest in the archive
- HYDROPAC 610/93 · Exercises · North Pacific Ocean1993-07-07
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 140130Z TO 140900Z JUL IN AREAS BOUND BY: A. 35-13N 121-59W, 35-02N 120-46W, 34-45N…
Hazardous operations 140130Z to 140900Z jul in areas bound by: a. 35-13N 121-59W, 35-02N 120-46W, 34-45N… →
Often in the same message
Related terms
- Rocket launching
- The areas where spent rocket stages, boosters and fairings are expected to fall after a launch, with the launch window.
- Space debris
- An area where parts of a spacecraft or rocket stage are expected to come down at sea, from a launch or a planned re-entry.
- Missile firing
- Missile tests or exercises, with the danger area and times during which missiles may be in flight or falling.
- Gunnery and live firing
- Naval or coastal guns firing into a sea area for practice, at stated times.
- Area bound by
- Introduces a list of positions that are the corners of an area — the polygon the warning applies to.
Warning types that use it
Counts cover the messages in this archive that use the term, recounted 2026-09-24; see coverage for what is collected and since when. Not for navigation — follow official NAVAREA and coastal broadcasts.