Wide berth requested
Keep well clear — or, when a distance is given ("TWO MILE BERTH REQUESTED"), at least that far away.
A berth is the clearance a ship leaves around something. "WIDE BERTH REQUESTED" asks ships to pass well clear of a wreck, an obstruction or a vessel at work; "THREE MILE BERTH REQUESTED" gives the distance. It is a request, not a prohibition, and the distance is set by the issuer to cover the uncertainty of the position and the reach of any equipment.
It is one of the most frequent instructions in the archive, and one of the few words in a warning addressed directly to the reader.
What the archive shows
28,537 messages in this archive use “Wide berth requested”, the earliest issued 1983-12-07 and the latest 2026-09-23. 58 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 2000, with 2,370 messages. Collection is incomplete between 2024-05 and 2026-08-17, so 2024, 2025 and 2026 are not comparable with fully collected years.
Cable ops accounts for 15,694 of 28,537 recorded messages (55%), the largest warning type group in this selection.
Located messages that use it fall in 90 sea areas; the most frequent are South Atlantic Ocean (7,304), North Atlantic Ocean (2,652) and Arabian Sea (1,291).
Its use is spread fairly evenly through the year: the busiest month, March, has 2,600 messages and the quietest, June, 2,232.
By warning series: HYDROLANT 17,713, HYDROPAC 7,484, NAVAREA IV 1,959 and NAVAREA XII 871, and 6 more.
Messages using it, by year of issue
By month of issue, all years
Where it appears · 90 sea areas
- South Atlantic Ocean 7,304
- North Atlantic Ocean 2,652
- Arabian Sea 1,291
- North Sea 1,282
- Celtic Sea 988
- Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin 980
- North Pacific Ocean 944
- Persian Gulf 735
- Bay of Bengal 655
- Indian Ocean 630
- English Channel 503
- Black Sea 383
In force now · 58
- NAVAREA XII 642/26 · Cable ops · Bering Sea2026-09-18 · in force
…IT INTEGRITY ALONG TRACKLINE JOINING 62-52.90N 165-28.00W, 62-51.70N 165-12.70W. ONE MILE BERTH REQUESTED. 2. CANCEL THIS MSG 030001Z OCT 26.
Cable operations 180800Z sep to 02 oct by cableship it integrity along trackline joining 62-52.90N… → - HYDROLANT 1850/26 · Surveys · South Atlantic Ocean2026-09-18 · in force
…OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS UNTIL 250259Z SEP BY M/V SIEM PILOT IN 22-25.32S 039-56.55W. WIDE BERTH REQUESTED. 2. CANCEL HYDROLANT 1844/26. 3. CANCEL THIS MSG 250400Z SEP 26.
Underwater operations in progress until 250259Z sep by M/V siem pilot in 22-25.32S 039-56.55W → - HYDROPAC 2695/26 · Cable ops · Persian Gulf2026-09-17 · in force
…25-59.10N 051-36.60E, 26-11.20N 051-46.20E, 26-15.10N 051-40.60E, 26-00.10N 051-26.00E. TWO MILE BERTH REQUESTED.
Pipeline operations 18 sep until further notice by barge mc dermott in area bound by 25-59.10N 051-36.60E,… → - HYDROPAC 2694/26 · Surveys · Persian Gulf2026-09-17 · in force
…26-33.31N 051-04.86E, 26-56.03N 051-13.62E, 25-04.51N 052-27.40E, 24-50.54N 052-03.14E. WIDE BERTH REQUESTED.
Survey operations 18 sep until further notice by M/V fugro resilience in area bound by 26-33.31N 051-04.86E,… → - NAVAREA II 329/26 · Other · South Atlantic Ocean2026-09-15 · in force
…BOUNDED BY: 05-27.8S 010-42.7E 05-38.7S 010-54.2E 05-49.7S 010-30.4E 05-44.5S 010-25.4E WIDE BERTH REQUESTED
Operation on cable → - NAVAREA III 139/26 · Surveys · Black Sea2026-09-12 · in force
…E 42 50.97 N - 031 18.32 E 42 52.97 N - 031 18.27 E 42 52.93 N - 031 15.53 E 10 NM. WIDE BERTH REQUESTED. 2. CANCEL THIS MESSAGE 192059Z OCT 26. 3.- CANCEL NAVAREA III 0121/26 AND…
1- drilling operations by yildirim rig (imo 9705469, mmsi 271053959), supported by ertugrul bey, aybuke,… →
How it reads in recent messages
- HYDROPAC 2756/26 · Nav aids · Laccadive Sea2026-09-23
…INDIAN OCEAN. INDIA. 1. YELLOW BUOY ESTABLISHED UNTIL 31 OCT IN 08-54.00N 076-01.80E. WIDE BERTH REQUESTED. 2. CANCEL THIS MSG 010001Z NOV 26.
Yellow buoy established until 31 oct in 08-54.00N 076-01.80E → - HYDROPAC 2752/26 · Surveys · Mozambique Channel2026-09-23
…12-30.00S 045-17.00E, 13-18.00S 045-17.00E, 13-18.00S 046-14.00E, 12-30.00S 046-14.00E. ONE MILE BERTH REQUESTED. 2. CANCEL THIS MSG 050001Z OCT 26.
Survey operations 24 sep thru 04 oct by M/V marion dufresne in area bound by 12-30.00S 045-17.00E, 13-18.00S… → - HYDROPAC 2743/26 · Surveys · Arabian Sea2026-09-22
…18-36.49N 072-10.51E, 18-36.34N 072-19.25E, 18-29.63N 072-19.12E, 18-29.78N 072-10.39E. WIDE BERTH REQUESTED. 2. CANCEL HYDROPAC 2677/26. 3. CANCEL THIS MSG 160001Z OCT 26.
Survey operations in progress by kohinoor 1 until 12 oct, and M/V fugro mapper until 15 oct in areas bounded… → - HYDROLANT 1878/26 · Cable ops · Black Sea2026-09-22
…43-49.77N 028-37.27E, 43-47.98N 028-37.00E, 43-48.33N 028-35.12E, 43-49.84N 028-35.42E. WIDE BERTH REQUESTED. 2. CANCEL THIS MSG 310001Z OCT 26.
Pipeline operations in progress until 30 oct in area bound by 43-49.77N 028-37.27E, 43-47.98N 028-37.00E,… → - HYDROPAC 2741/26 · Surveys · Indian Ocean2026-09-22
…20-19.72S 115-42.52E, 20-35.47S 115-42.52E, 20-35.47S 115-43.80E, 20-19.72S 115-43.80E. TWO MILE BERTH REQUESTED. 2. CANCEL HYDROPAC 2373/26.
Underwater operations in progress until further notice by M/V fugro kwilena in area bound by 20-19.72S… → - HYDROLANT 1875/26 · Surveys · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-22
…03-48.19N 048-54.43W, 03-56.43N 049-06.33W, 04-07.01N 049-23.23W, 04-15.75N 049-43.94W. WIDE BERTH REQUESTED. 2. CANCEL HYDROLANT 1825/26. 3. CANCEL THIS MSG 040001Z OCT 26.
Survey operations in progress until 03 oct by M/V amazon warrior, M/V venture g and M/V big john VII towing… → - HYDROPAC 2735/26 · Cable ops · Singapore Strait2026-09-22
…23 SEP UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE BY CABLESHIP PETER FABER IN VICINITY 01-16.75N 104-08.14E. WIDE BERTH REQUESTED. 2. CANCEL HYDROPAC 2683/26.
Cable operations 23 sep until further notice by cableship peter faber in vicinity 01-16.75N 104-08.14E → - HYDROLANT 1869/26 · Surveys · South Atlantic Ocean2026-09-21
…DAILY 22 SEP THRU 06 OCT BY M/V NORD HOUSTON AND M/V COMANDO B IN 20-23.62S 040-09.70W. WIDE BERTH REQUESTED. 2. CANCEL THIS MSG 061900Z OCT 26.
Underwater operations 0800Z to 1800Z daily 22 sep thru 06 oct by M/V nord houston and M/V comando b in… →
Earliest in the archive
- HYDROLANT 2251/83 · Cable ops1983-12-06
…SEISMIC SURVEY IN PROGRESS BY M/V GARDLINE LOCATOR WITHIN 3 MILES OF 53-04.0N. 02-32.5E. WIDE BERTH REQUESTED.
Seismic survey in progress by M/V gardline locator within 3 miles of 53-04.0N →
Often in the same message
Related terms
- Safety zone / exclusion zone
- An area ships must stay out of, or may only enter with permission, for safety or security.
- Submerged obstruction
- Something on or near the seabed that could damage a ship, an anchor or fishing gear — its nature often unknown.
- Restricted in ability to manoeuvre
- A vessel whose work — cable laying, diving, dredging, towing — stops it from keeping out of other ships' way.
- Within a radius of
- A circular area — every position within a stated distance of a point.
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.