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 3609/17 · Exercises2017-10-23 → 2017-10-27
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 1000Z daily 26 and 27 oct in area bound by 10-20.00N 107-09.00E, 10-21.25N…
  2. HYDROPAC 3559/17 · Surveys2017-10-18 → 2017-11-01
    Survey operations in progress until 31 oct by vessel towing 5000 meter long cable in area bound by 22-33-24N…
  3. HYDROPAC 3534/17 · Other2017-10-16 → 2017-10-17
    F/V bd 98063 ts reports crewman requiring medical assistance in 13-05N 116-26E at 141800Z oct
  4. HYDROPAC 3520/17 · Surveys2017-10-14 → 2017-10-27
    Survey operations 18 thru 26 oct by M/V discovery 01 in vicinity 09-45.38N 107-58.71E
  5. HYDROPAC 3519/17 · Containers2017-10-14 → 2017-10-17
    Five containers adrift in vicinity of trackline between 20-48.9N 116-15.9E and 21-25.8N 115-49.0E at 140600Z…
  6. HYDROPAC 3507/17 · Surveys2017-10-13 → 2017-11-27
    Survey operations 14 oct to 30 nov by M/V cgg amadeus towing six 9000 meter long cables in area bound by…
  7. HYDROPAC 3469/17 · Derelicts2017-10-11 → 2017-10-14
    Derelict vessel partially submerged and adrift in vicinity 20-45.8N 112-05.4E at 110830Z oct
  8. HYDROPAC 3456/17 · Debris2017-10-10 → 2017-10-13
    Object adrift in vicinity 18-25.4N 112-51.3E on 10 oct
  9. HYDROPAC 3434/17 · Exercises2017-10-08 → 2017-10-16
    Gunnery exercises: a. 2330Z to 1000Z commencing daily 09 thru 14 oct, alternate 152330Z to 161000Z oct in…
  10. HYDROPAC 3422/17 · Surveys2017-10-07 → 2017-11-28
    Dangerous wreck in 01-25.92N 104-27.39E
  11. HYDROPAC 3357/17 · Surveys2017-09-30 → 2017-10-11
    Survey operations in progress until 20 oct by M/V cgg amadeus towing eight 8000 meter long cables in area…
  12. HYDROPAC 3341/17 · Cable ops2017-09-29 → 2017-10-04
    Cable operations in progress until 06 oct by cableship lodbrog in vicinity 22-08.4N 114-34.8E
  13. HYDROPAC 3315/17 · Surveys2017-09-27 → 2017-10-02
    Survey operations 28 sep thru 01 oct by M/V pgs apollo towing ten five mile long cables in area bound by…
  14. HYDROPAC 3303/17 · Other2017-09-26 → 2017-09-27
    F/V qna 95636 ts reports crewman requiring medical assistance in 11-05N 113-29E at 260001Z sep
  15. HYDROPAC 3280/17 · Exercises2017-09-24 → 2017-09-28
    Gunnery exercises 260001Z to 260400Z sep, alternate 270001Z to 272359Z sep in area bound by 08-58.50N…
  16. HYDROPAC 3240/17 · Exercises2017-09-20 → 2017-09-27
    Gunnery exercises 25 and 26 sep in area bound by 14-19.0N 120-03.0E, 14-19.0N 120-13.2E, 14-09.0N 120-13.0E,…
  17. HYDROPAC 3231/17 · Other2017-09-19 → 2017-09-20
    F/V bd 97882 ts reports crewman requiring medical assistance in 13-13N 112-22E at 191200Z sep
  18. HYDROPAC 3201/17 · Cable ops2017-09-17 → 2017-09-26
    Cable operations 19 thru 28 sep by cableship lodbrog in vicinity 09-02.6N 108-18.9E
  19. HYDROPAC 3190/17 · Surveys2017-09-16 → 2017-10-01
    Survey operations in progress until 26 oct by M/V pgs apollo towing ten five mile long cables in area bound…
  20. HYDROPAC 3142/17 · Exercises2017-09-14 → 2017-09-17
    Gunnery exercises 160001Z to 160400Z sep, alternate 170001Z to 170400Z sep in area bound by 10-28.50N…

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