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 1637/00 · Derelicts2000-11-08 → 2000-11-09
    Barge adrift vicinity 25-21.4N 120-41.4E at 081340Z nov
  2. HYDROPAC 1612/00 · Cable ops2000-11-03 → 2000-11-17
    Underwater cable repair operations 08 thru 16 nov by cableship kdd ocean link in area bound by 22-48N…
  3. HYDROPAC 1565/00 · Other2000-10-24 → 2000-12-08
    Flare sighted vicinity 03-50N 104-32E
  4. HYDROPAC 1416/00 · Derelicts2000-09-27 → 2000-10-04
    Derelict F/V, white hull, on fire and adrift in 17-46N 119-33E at 270115Z sep
  5. HYDROPAC 1411/00 · Derelicts2000-09-26 → 2000-09-27
    Derelict F/V, white hull, on fire and adrift in 17-53N 119-20E at 260430Z sep
  6. HYDROPAC 1396/00 · Exercises2000-09-22 → 2000-09-28
    Hazardous operations 270200Z to 270800Z sep, alternate 280200Z to 280800Z sep in area bound by 06-39.3N…
  7. HYDROPAC 1369/00 · Containers2000-09-15 → 2000-09-22
    40 foot container adrift vicinity 18-22.5N 119-21.9E at 150720Z sep
  8. HYDROPAC 1347/00 · Containers2000-09-10 → 2000-09-17
    Container adrift vicinity 18-43.6N 118-23.5E at 100315Z sep
  9. HYDROPAC 1154/00 · Cable ops2000-08-05 → 2001-01-30
    Seismic survey in progress until further notice by M/V ramform challenger towing four mile long cable in…
  10. HYDROPAC 1081/00 · Towing2000-07-22 → 2000-09-08
    16 meter tug ocean oscar towing two barges unreported singapore to port samarinda
  11. HYDROPAC 1033/00 · Wrecks2000-07-14 → 2000-07-14
    Vessel aground in 15-06N 117-49E
  12. HYDROPAC 986/00 · Cable ops2000-07-06 → 2000-08-05
    Seismic survey in progress until further notice by M/V ramform challenger towing three mile long cable in…
  13. HYDROPAC 840/00 · Surveys2000-06-06 → 2000-07-31
    Underwater operations in progress until 30 jul within two miles of 25-13-21N 120-04-18E
  14. HYDROPAC 727/00 · Other2000-05-17 → 2000-05-22
    Underwater ordnance detonations 220001Z to 220400Z may within 50 miles of 10-44N 111-43E
  15. HYDROPAC 498/00 · Wrecks2000-03-28 → 2002-01-03
    13 meter shoal reported in 00-38.21S 108-14.70E
  16. HYDROPAC 449/00 · Other2000-03-15 → 2000-03-17
    Hydrographic operations 161200Z to 171200Z mar in area bound by 20-20N 116-00E, 20-20N 120-30E, 18-50N…
  17. HYDROPAC 443/00 · Other2000-03-14 → 2000-03-15
    Hydrographic operations 160001Z to 170001Z mar in area bound by 20-20N 116-00E, 20-20N 120-30E, 18-50N…
  18. HYDROPAC 441/00 · Cable ops2000-03-14 → 2000-04-01
    Seismic survey in progress until 31 mar by cableships bergen surveyor and orient explorer towing two mile…
  19. HYDROPAC 383/00 · Cable ops2000-03-05 → 2000-03-06
    Underwater cable operations in progress until further notice by cableship fu lai vicinity of trackline…
  20. HYDROPAC 363/00 · Cable ops2000-03-02 → 2000-03-14
    Seismic survey in progress until 31 mar by cableships bergen surveyor and orient explorer towing two mile…

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