South China Sea

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

in force
10
last 12 months
6
since 1993
2,321
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 ops57025%
Exercises56024%
Other30713%
Derelicts30313%
Wrecks1547%
Piracy1376%
Surveys1356%
Nav aids502%
Missiles492%
Containers352%
Debris131%
Towing70%
Volcanic10%

Archive · 2,311 cancelled

  1. HYDROPAC 1105/04 · Derelicts2004-07-03 → 2004-07-03
    20 meter derelict F/V adrift in 08-08N 108-39E at 012330Z jul
  2. HYDROPAC 1102/04 · Derelicts2004-07-02 → 2004-07-09
    Derelict 20 meter F/V, red hull with light green stripe on bow in 08-08N 108-39E at 012330Z jul
  3. HYDROPAC 947/04 · Other2004-06-03 → 2004-06-08
    Underwater ordnance detonations 080600Z to 080800Z jun within 50 miles of 13-33N 113-38E
  4. HYDROPAC 882/04 · Cable ops2004-05-22 → 2004-06-22
    Seismic survey in progress until 220001Z jun by M/V zephyr 1 towing 7500 meter long cable in area bound by…
  5. HYDROPAC 803/04 · Cable ops2004-05-04 → 2004-05-21
    Seismic survey in progress until 20 may by M/V geco emerald towing 3.8 mile long cable in area bound by…
  6. HYDROPAC 655/04 · Cable ops2004-04-12 → 2004-05-04
    Seismic survey in progress until 20 may by M/V geco emerald towing 3.3 mile long cable in area bound by…
  7. HYDROPAC 654/04 · Cable ops2004-04-12 → 2004-04-12
    Seismic survey in progress until 20 may by M/V geco emerald towing 3.3 mile long cable in area bound by…
  8. HYDROPAC 527/04 · Cable ops2004-03-23 → 2004-05-21
    Seismic survey in progress until 210001Z may by M/V zephyr 1 towing 7500 meter long cable in area bound by…
  9. HYDROPAC 329/04 · Cable ops2004-02-22 → 2004-09-08
    Cable repair operations in progress until further notice by cableship cable retriever vicinity of trackline…
  10. HYDROPAC 1749/03 · Cable ops2003-10-09 → 2003-11-14
    Seismic survey 11 oct thru 20 nov by M/V geco emerald towing 2.2 mile long cable in area bound by 04-35N…
  11. HYDROPAC 1601/03 · Other2003-09-17 → 2003-09-20
    Underwater ordnance detonations 222300Z to 230900Z sep within 90 miles of 20-30N 120-00E
  12. HYDROPAC 1577/03 · Cable ops2003-09-13 → 2003-10-01
    Seismic survey in progress until 30 sep by M/V pacific sword towing 4300 meter long cable in area bound by…
  13. HYDROPAC 1552/03 · Cable ops2003-09-10 → 2003-10-26
    Cable repair operations in progress until 25 oct by cableship cable retriever vicinity of trackline between…
  14. HYDROPAC 1545/03 · Derelicts2003-09-09 → 2003-09-16
    Derelict 145 meter M/V anugrah sakti adrift in 20-29N 120-34E on 08 sep
  15. HYDROPAC 1371/03 · Other2003-08-09 → 2003-12-22
    Pipelaying operations in progress until 21 dec vicinity of trackline between 05-08.5N 104-47.3E and 05-14.5N…
  16. HYDROPAC 1269/03 · Derelicts2003-07-23 → 2003-07-30
    Derelict vessel wahana asia adrift in 10-52.4N 109-37.6E at 230330Z jul
  17. HYDROPAC 1056/03 · Exercises2003-06-20 → 2003-06-25
    Hazardous operations 1400Z to 2359Z daily: a. 23 jun within 20 miles of 10-44N 112-24E
  18. HYDROPAC 1041/03 · Nav aids2003-06-18 → 2005-06-29
    Royal charlotte reef light 06-57N 113-35E unlit
  19. HYDROPAC 1003/03 · Exercises2003-06-11 → 2003-07-10
    Gunnery exercises 16 jun thru 09 jul in area bound by 02-30N 104-17E, 02-30N 105-15E, 02-00N 105-26E, 02-00N…
  20. HYDROPAC 940/03 · Cable ops2003-05-31 → 2003-08-21
    Seismic survey in progress until further notice by M/V geco eagle towing four mile long cable in area bound…

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