South China Sea

IHO sea area 49 · 102° to 122° E, -3° to 26° N

in force
10
last 12 months
6
since 1993
2,333
categories
13

In force now · 10

  1. HYDROPAC 2249/26 · Surveys2026-08-06
    Survey operations by vessel PXGEO 2 towing eight 5-mile cables continue until 31 December in Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea; wide berth requested.
  2. NAVAREA XI 356/26 · Cable ops2026-08-06
    Seismic survey by vessel PXGEO 2 towing eight 5-mile cables in the southern Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea until 31 December 2026.
  3. HYDROPAC 2099/26 · Cable ops2026-07-21
    Cable operations are underway in the East China Sea by the cableship ILE DE RE until further notice; wide berth requested.
  4. NAVAREA XI 329/26 · Cable ops2026-07-21
    Cable ship Ile de Re is laying submarine cable in the Taiwan Strait until further notice.
  5. HYDROPAC 2412/25 · Wrecks2025-09-19
    Dangerous wreck in South China Sea off Vietnam at 10-22.31N 107-46.96E.
  6. NAVAREA XI 437/25 · Wrecks2025-09-19
    Sunken wreck exists in northern South China Sea at 10-22.31N 107-46.96E.
  7. NAVAREA XI 435/23 · Nav aids2023-12-04
    The Manila NAVTEX station at 14 degrees 30.3 minutes north, 121 degrees 3.9 minutes east is inoperative until further notice.
  8. NAVAREA XI 153/20 · Wrecks2020-04-06
    A yellow observation buoy is reported at 19-20.6N 113-45.9E in the northern South China Sea on 04 Apr.
  9. NAVAREA XI 664/19 · Wrecks2019-11-21
    An oil rig is reported to exist in the southern South China Sea at 07-42.1N 107-55.8E.
  10. NAVAREA XI 132/19 · Wrecks2019-03-07
    An oil rig is reported at 07-47.5N 108-12.0E in the southern South China Sea, and previous warnings are cancelled.

Longest in force

  1. NAVAREA XI 132/19 · Wrecks2019-03-07
    An oil rig is reported at 07-47.5N 108-12.0E in the southern South China Sea, and previous warnings are cancelled.
  2. NAVAREA XI 664/19 · Wrecks2019-11-21
    An oil rig is reported to exist in the southern South China Sea at 07-42.1N 107-55.8E.
  3. NAVAREA XI 153/20 · Wrecks2020-04-06
    A yellow observation buoy is reported at 19-20.6N 113-45.9E in the northern South China Sea on 04 Apr.
  4. NAVAREA XI 435/23 · Nav aids2023-12-04
    The Manila NAVTEX station at 14 degrees 30.3 minutes north, 121 degrees 3.9 minutes east is inoperative until further notice.
  5. NAVAREA XI 437/25 · Wrecks2025-09-19
    Sunken wreck exists in northern South China Sea at 10-22.31N 107-46.96E.

By year

93
98
99
00
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26

By month (all years)

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

By category · since 1997

Cable ops57225%
Exercises56624%
Other30713%
Derelicts30313%
Wrecks1547%
Piracy1376%
Surveys1356%
Missiles532%
Nav aids502%
Containers352%
Debris131%
Towing70%
Volcanic10%

Archive · 2,323 cancelled

  1. HYDROPAC 1573/24 · Exercises2024-05-10 → 2024-05-13
    Gunnery exercises 11 and 12 may in area bound by 14-15.00N 120-10.00E, 14-21.00N 120-10.00E, 14-21.00N…
  2. HYDROPAC 1548/24 · Other2024-05-09 → 2026-08-14
    A fishing vessel reports a crewman with an amputated leg near 16 degrees north 109 degrees east on May 9, requesting medical assistance.
  3. HYDROPAC 1525/24 · Surveys2024-05-07 → 2026-08-14
    Survey operations by vessel SW Thuridur towing ten eight-meter cables in the South China Sea near the Philippines began May 8 and continue until further notice.
  4. HYDROPAC 1505/24 · Exercises2024-05-06 → 2024-05-21
    Gunnery exercises in progress until 20 may in area bound by 14-30.00N 119-15.00E, 14-40.00N 119-15.00E,…
  5. HYDROPAC 1493/24 · Missiles2024-05-04 → 2024-05-09
    Hazardous operations, space debris 090001Z to 090600Z may in areas bound by: a. 16-05.00N 113-28.00E,…
  6. HYDROPAC 1425/24 · Exercises2024-04-30 → 2024-05-07
    Gunnery exercises 03 thru 06 may in area bound by 16-25.69N 120-08.10E, 16-25.77N 120-10.32E, 16-23.72N…
  7. HYDROPAC 1352/24 · Exercises2024-04-24 → 2024-04-25
    Gunnery exercises 250100Z to 250400Z apr in area bound by 03-07.00N 107-00.00E, 03-17.50N 107-00.00E,…
  8. HYDROPAC 1333/24 · Exercises2024-04-23 → 2024-05-04
    Gunnery exercises 28 apr to 03 may in area bound by 09-29.13N 117-18.24E, 09-15.53N 117-33.98E, 09-29.85N…
  9. HYDROPAC 1319/24 · Other2024-04-22 → 2026-08-14
    Three people are overboard from the fishing vessel Guifangyu 96822 in the Gulf of Tonkin near 21°03'N 108°21'E on 21 April; ships are asked to assist.
  10. HYDROPAC 1310/24 · Exercises2024-04-22 → 2024-04-27
    Gunnery exercises in progress until 26 apr in area bound by 17-35.00N 120-00.00E, 17-45.00N 120-00.00E,…
  11. HYDROPAC 1307/24 · Exercises2024-04-22 → 2024-04-23
    Gunnery exercises 230800Z to 231000Z apr in area bound by 03-17.5N 107-00.0E, 03-17.5N 107-10.0E, 03-07.0N…
  12. HYDROPAC 1305/24 · Exercises2024-04-21 → 2024-04-22
    Gunnery exercises 220200Z to 220400Z apr in area bound by 00-00.00N 105-22.50E, 00-00.00N 105-32.50E,…
  13. HYDROPAC 1262/24 · Other2024-04-17 → 2024-04-21
    Tug jtn 2012 and barge cel 203 unreported
  14. HYDROPAC 1079/24 · Exercises2024-04-04 → 2024-04-14
    Gunnery exercises 08 thru 13 apr in area bound by 16-16.03N 120-10.84E, 16-15.58N 120-12.93E, 16-13.51N…
  15. HYDROPAC 1078/24 · Exercises2024-04-04 → 2024-04-25
    Gunnery exercises 07 thru 24 apr in area bound by 14-28.47N 119-44.04E, 14-28.37N 120-01.30E, 14-22.35N…
  16. HYDROPAC 1057/24 · Other2024-04-03 → 2024-04-03
    Earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 7.5 occurred in 23-48.00N 121-42.00E at 022358Z apr
  17. HYDROPAC 1005/24 · Exercises2024-03-27 → 2024-04-01
    Gunnery exercises 010001Z to 011300Z apr in area bound by 10-16.48N 114-16.17E, 10-27.85N 114-16.17E,…
  18. HYDROPAC 994/24 · Exercises2024-03-26 → 2024-04-05
    Hazardous operations 27 mar thru 04 apr in area bound by 10-08.63N 118-15.13E, 10-13.71N 118-15.13E,…
  19. HYDROPAC 971/24 · Cable ops2024-03-25 → 2024-04-06
    Cable operations until further notice by cableship teneo in 06-47.46N 109-19.20E
  20. HYDROPAC 964/24 · Nav aids2024-03-24 → 2026-08-14
    Radio beacon at Takong Light in Singapore Strait is off air and unlit until further notice.

Sea boundaries: Flanders Marine Institute (2018), IHO Sea Areas v3, marineregions.org (CC BY 4.0). Not for navigation — follow official NAVAREA / coastal broadcasts.