Last known position
Also written: LKP
The most recent confirmed position of a missing vessel or person — the starting point of a search.
Search planners start from the last known position and estimate how far wind and current could have carried a vessel or a person since. The longer ago that position was fixed, the larger the area to search.
On seahazards the position on a warning's map is the position in its text. For a missing vessel it is where the vessel was, not where it is now; for floating objects still in force, the drift estimate on the warning page shows where the object probably is today.
What the archive shows
2,180 messages in this archive use “Last known position”, the earliest issued 1992-05-15 and the latest 2026-09-20. 1 of them is in force in the latest lists we collected. A hazard reported again and again counts once per message.
The largest yearly count is 2015, with 156 messages. Collection is incomplete between 2024-05 and 2026-08-17, so 2024, 2025 and 2026 are not comparable with fully collected years.
Incidents accounts for 2,071 of 2,180 recorded messages (95%), the largest warning type group in this selection.
Located messages that use it fall in 65 sea areas; the most frequent are North Atlantic Ocean (325), South Atlantic Ocean (206) and South Pacific Ocean (200).
Messages that use it are issued most often in December (224 across all years) and least often in February (130).
By warning series: HYDROPAC 1,197, HYDROLANT 852, NAVAREA IV 82 and NAVAREA XII 19, and 3 more.
Messages using it, by year of issue
By month of issue, all years
Where it appears · 65 sea areas
In force now · 1
- NAVAREA II 316/26 · Surveys · Gulf of Guinea2026-09-04 · in force
GULF OF GUINEA, POINTE NOIRE, SIERRA LEONE. RIG LIST. LAST KNOWN POSITIONS OF MOBILE OIL RIGS AND DRILL SHIPS AT 040430 UTC SEP 26. TO REPORT A MOBILE OFFSHORE…
Last known positions of mobile oil rigs and drill ships at 040430 UTC sep 26 →
How it reads in recent messages
- NAVAREA II 335/26 · Towing · Celtic Sea2026-09-20
…TOW. TUG BOULDER TOWING BARGE H-408 FROM ITALY TO IRISH SEA LENGTH OF TOW 600 METRES LAST KNOWN POSITION : 48-42N 007-14W AT 201422 UTC SEP 26 CONVOY OUT OF NAVAREA II
Towing operations → - NAVAREA II 332/26 · Towing · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-16
…TOW. TUG BOULDER TOWING BARGE H-408 FROM ITALY TO IRISH SEA LENGTH OF TOW 600 METRES LAST KNOWN POSITION : 42-04N 009-47W AT 160718 UTC SEP 26 NAVIGATE WITH CAUTION
Towing operations → - NAVAREA II 324/26 · Towing · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-14
…TOW. TUG BOULDER TOWING BARGE H-408 FROM ITALY TO IRISH SEA LENGTH OF TOW 600 METRES LAST KNOWN POSITION : 38-16N 009-43W AT 140430 UTC SEP 26 NAVIGATE WITH CAUTION
Towing operations → - NAVAREA II 322/26 · Towing · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-12
…TOWING SEMI-SUBMERSIBLE CRANE VESSEL FROM ITALY TO IRISH SEA LENGTH OF TOW 600 METRES LAST KNOWN POSITION : 36-04.80N 006-32.90W AT 121230 UTC SEP 26 NAVIGATE WITH CAUTION
Towing operations → - NAVAREA II 299/26 · Surveys · Gulf of Guinea2026-08-09
GULF OF GUINEA, POINTE NOIRE, SIERRA LEONE. RIG LIST. LAST KNOWN POSITIONS OF MOBILE OIL RIGS AND DRILL SHIPS AT 091630 UTC AUG 26. TO REPORT A MOBILE OFFSHORE…
Last known positions of mobile oil rigs and drill ships at 091630 UTC aug 26 → - HYDROPAC 91/26 · Incidents · South China Sea2026-01-12
SOUTH CHINA SEA. VIETNAM. DNC 11. 1. F/V KH 90026 TS, EIGHT PERSONS ON BOARD, UNREPORTED. LAST KNOWN POSITION IN VICINITY 10-27.00N 109-03.00E AT 120430Z JAN. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A…
F/V kh 90026 ts, eight persons on board, unreported → - HYDROPAC 2948/25 · Incidents · Laccadive Sea2025-11-15
…THURUSHIKA DUWA YELLOW, RED AND BLUE HULL, SIX PERSONS ON BOARD, DISABLED AND ADRIFT. LAST KNOWN POSITION 06-32.00N 077-53.65E AT 151239Z NOV. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP…
40 foot F/V thurushika duwa yellow, red and blue hull, six persons on board, disabled and adrift →
Earliest in the archive
- NOAAORR-6887 · Spills · Gulf of Mexico1992-05-15
…on the cargo tank which was holed, but some oil is still leaking from the barge. The last reported position of the oil was approximately 2 to 2.5 miles west of Mile 115. SSC Plans: NOAA SSC Mike…
Early friday evening, a 240' crude oil barge collided with a barge carrying propylene →
Often in the same message
Related terms
- Overdue vessel
- A vessel has not arrived when expected and has not been heard from; ships are asked to look out for it.
- Man overboard
- Someone has gone into the water from a vessel; ships in the area are asked to look for them.
- Adrift
- Loose and moving with wind and current — a vessel, container, buoy, log or anything else no longer secured.
- Position (degrees and minutes)
- How warnings write positions: degrees, a hyphen, then minutes, with N/S and E/W — 49-40.8N 003-43.8W.
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.