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 2417/17 · Other2017-07-13 → 2017-07-13
    F/V na 92286 ts reports crewman requiring medical assistance in vicinity 19-00N 106-00E at 120200Z jul
  2. HYDROPAC 2414/17 · Surveys2017-07-13 → 2017-07-15
    Survey operations in progress until further notice by M/V pgs apollo towing ten five mile long cables in…
  3. HYDROPAC 2406/17 · Other2017-07-12 → 2017-07-27
    F/V qb 92530-TS reports crewman requiring medical assistance in 16-15N 109-28E at 100300Z jul
  4. HYDROPAC 2378/17 · Exercises2017-07-10 → 2017-07-13
    Gunnery exercises 120001Z to 121600Z jul, alternate 130001Z to 131600Z jul in area bound by 11-51.77N…
  5. HYDROPAC 2324/17 · Surveys2017-07-04 → 2017-07-05
    Survey operations in progress until further notice by M/V pgs apollo towing ten 8100 meter long cables in…
  6. HYDROPAC 2306/17 · Surveys2017-07-02 → 2017-07-04
    Survey operations in progress until further notice by M/V pgs apollo towing ten 8100 meter long cables in…
  7. HYDROPAC 2304/17 · Surveys2017-07-02 → 2017-07-02
    Survey operations in progress until further notice by M/V pgs apollo towing ten 8100 meter long cables in…
  8. HYDROPAC 2299/17 · Surveys2017-07-01 → 2017-08-16
    Survey operations in progress until 15 aug by M/V cgg amadeus towing four 8000 meter long cables in area…
  9. HYDROPAC 2267/17 · Other2017-06-28 → 2017-07-01
    Bombing exercise 300001Z to 300200Z jun, alternate 010001Z to 010200Z jul in area bound by 12-13.0N…
  10. HYDROPAC 2249/17 · Surveys2017-06-27 → 2017-07-06
    Survey operations 28 jun thru 05 jul by M/V sapurakencana wira in area bound by 08-05.25N 108-08.10E,…
  11. HYDROPAC 2234/17 · Wrecks2017-06-26 → 2018-09-07
    Dangerous wreck in 17-09.0N 107-19.9E
  12. HYDROPAC 2201/17 · Cable ops2017-06-23 → 2017-07-29
    Cable operations 24 jun until further notice by cableship rene descartes in vicinity of trackline joining…
  13. HYDROPAC 2182/17 · Surveys2017-06-22 → 2017-07-02
    Survey operations in progress until further notice by M/V pgs apollo towing ten 8100 meter long cables in…
  14. HYDROPAC 2148/17 · Cable ops2017-06-19 → 2017-07-18
    Cable operations in progress until 17 jul by cableship resolute in area bound by 06-51.33N 108-19.26E,…
  15. HYDROPAC 2137/17 · Surveys2017-06-18 → 2017-06-24
    Survey operations 19 thru 23 jun by M/V ptsc researcher and M/V sapurakencana wira in area bound by…
  16. HYDROPAC 2078/17 · Surveys2017-06-14 → 2017-06-22
    Survey operations in progress until further notice by M/V pgs apollo towing ten 8100 meter long cables in…
  17. HYDROPAC 2050/17 · Surveys2017-06-12 → 2017-06-14
    Survey operations in progress until further notice by M/V pgs apollo towing ten 8100 meter long cables in…
  18. HYDROPAC 2038/17 · Wrecks2017-06-11 → 2017-06-30
    M/V chemroad journey aground in 10-02.4N 108-58.5E at 110230Z jun
  19. HYDROPAC 1991/17 · Surveys2017-06-06 → 2017-06-12
    Survey operations in progress until 21 jun by M/V pgs apollo towing ten 8100 meter long cables in area bound…
  20. HYDROPAC 1965/17 · Nav aids2017-06-04 → 2017-11-29
    Hon bay canh light 08-40.0N 106-42.4E temporarily changed to: fl (3) w 15 sec 212 meters 17 miles

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