NAVAREAs
The World-Wide Navigational Warning Service, run by the International Maritime Organization and the International Hydrographic Organization, divides the oceans into 21 NAVAREAs. Each has a coordinating country that gathers reports of dangers in its waters and broadcasts them as numbered long-range warnings, by satellite and radio, to every ship in the area. Coastal and local warnings sit underneath this layer. What a NAVAREA warning is →
A warning is attributed to an area here only when the message itself says so: it belongs to the area's own series, or it is a U.S. NGA relay (HYDROLANT, HYDROPAC, HYDROARC) that names the area as its source. No boundaries are drawn. On that rule 107,706 of the archive's 212,329 displayable messages (51%) can be attributed; the rest are coastal, range or event messages that name no area.
| area | coordinator · waters | attributed | in force | own list read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAVAREA I United Kingdom | United Kingdom · the north-east Atlantic around the British Isles, the North Sea and the Baltic · mostly nav aids | 2,093 | 0 | via NGA |
| NAVAREA II France | France · the eastern Atlantic from the Bay of Biscay south along West Africa · mostly cable ops | 5,541 | 7 | yes |
| NAVAREA III Spain | Spain · the Mediterranean and the Black Sea · mostly exercises | 10,120 | 17 | yes |
| NAVAREA IV United States | United States · the western North Atlantic: North America's east coast, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean · mostly icebergs | 19,367 | 106 | yes |
| NAVAREA V Brazil | Brazil · the western South Atlantic off Brazil · mostly cable ops | 16,309 | 0 | via NGA |
| NAVAREA VI Argentina | Argentina · the south-western Atlantic off Argentina and Uruguay, toward Antarctica · mostly icebergs | 5,571 | 0 | via NGA |
| NAVAREA VII South Africa | South Africa · the south-east Atlantic and south-west Indian Ocean around southern Africa · mostly surveys | 1,978 | 2 | yes |
| NAVAREA VIII India | India · the central and northern Indian Ocean, including the Bay of Bengal · mostly exercises | 11,397 | 0 | via NGA |
| NAVAREA IX Pakistan | Pakistan · the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf · mostly exercises | 2,965 | 4 | via NGA |
| NAVAREA X Australia | Australia · the waters around Australia, from the eastern Indian Ocean to the Coral and Tasman Seas · mostly surveys | 590 | 20 | yes |
| NAVAREA XI Japan | Japan · the north-west Pacific and East Asian seas, from Japan to the South China Sea · mostly exercises | 10,349 | 34 | yes |
| NAVAREA XII United States | United States · the eastern North Pacific: North America's west coast, Hawaii and the central Pacific · mostly exercises | 11,921 | 22 | yes |
| NAVAREA XIII Russian Federation | Russian Federation · the north-west Pacific off the Russian Far East · mostly exercises | 990 | 0 | via NGA |
| NAVAREA XIV New Zealand | New Zealand · the south-west Pacific around New Zealand and the Pacific islands · mostly missiles | 1,222 | 0 | via NGA |
| NAVAREA XV Chile | Chile · the south-east Pacific off Chile · mostly exercises | 2,900 | 0 | via NGA |
| NAVAREA XVI Peru | Peru · the eastern South Pacific off Peru · mostly exercises | 1,284 | 0 | via NGA |
| NAVAREA XVII Canada | Canada · the western Canadian Arctic and the Beaufort Sea · mostly nav aids | 412 | 1 | via NGA |
| NAVAREA XVIII Canada | Canada · the eastern Canadian Arctic, Baffin Bay and Davis Strait · mostly nav aids | 466 | 0 | via NGA |
| NAVAREA XIX Norway | Norway · the Norwegian Sea, the Barents Sea and Svalbard · mostly missiles | 552 | 0 | yes |
| NAVAREA XX Russian Federation | Russian Federation · the western Russian Arctic: the Kara Sea and the approaches to the Northern Sea Route · mostly missiles | 1,571 | 0 | via NGA |
| NAVAREA XXI Russian Federation | Russian Federation · the eastern Russian Arctic: the East Siberian and Chukchi Seas · mostly missiles | 108 | 0 | via NGA |
"Via NGA" means the area's warnings reach this archive only as U.S. NGA relays. See coverage for collection dates. Not for navigation.