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 212/17 · Cable ops2017-01-19 → 2017-01-22
    Cable laying operations in progress until further notice by cableship rene descartes in vicinity of…
  2. HYDROPAC 164/17 · Cable ops2017-01-16 → 2017-01-25
    Cable repair operations in progress until 27 jan by cableship cable retriever along trackline between…
  3. HYDROPAC 162/17 · Containers2017-01-16 → 2017-01-19
    20 containers adrift in vicinity 22-29N 119-41E at 140918Z jan
  4. HYDROPAC 149/17 · Containers2017-01-15 → 2017-01-18
    White container adrift in 22-27.9N 119-40.9E at 150400Z jan
  5. HYDROPAC 139/17 · Debris2017-01-14 → 2017-01-17
    15 meter long black object adrift in 04-03N 106-45E at 140240Z jan
  6. HYDROPAC 48/17 · Cable ops2017-01-05 → 2017-01-24
    Cable repair operations in progress until 23 jan vicinity of trackline between 24-25-07.8N 118-36-41.0E and…
  7. HYDROPAC 47/17 · Exercises2017-01-05 → 2017-01-26
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 06, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23 and 25 jan, 0001Z to 1400Z daily 05, 10,…
  8. HYDROPAC 27/17 · Cable ops2017-01-04 → 2017-03-01
    Seismic survey in progress until further notice by M/V ramform sovereign towing 12 5.1 mile long cables in…
  9. HYDROPAC 19/17 · Cable ops2017-01-03 → 2017-01-13
    Cable repair operations in progress until further notice by c/s lodbrog vicinity 08-59.8N 108-13.2E
  10. HYDROPAC 18/17 · Derelicts2017-01-03 → 2017-01-06
    Derelict vessel, orange hull adrift vicinity 13-51.0N 111-41.3E at 030200Z jan
  11. HYDROPAC 3/17 · Derelicts2017-01-01 → 2017-01-02
    F/V na 94039 ts disabled and anchored due to propeller trouble in 18-56N 106-20E at 311100Z dec
  12. HYDROPAC 4036/16 · Other2016-12-29 → 2017-01-25
    F/V qng 97337TS reports crewman requiring medical assistance in 17-24N 113-30E at 290300Z dec
  13. HYDROPAC 4034/16 · Exercises2016-12-29 → 2017-01-26
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 03 thru 06, 09 thru 13, 16 thru 20 and 23 thru 26 jan 17 a. in area…
  14. HYDROPAC 4008/16 · Cable ops2016-12-26 → 2017-01-08
    Cable laying operations in progress until further notice by cableship rene descartes in vicinity of…
  15. HYDROPAC 4004/16 · Derelicts2016-12-26 → 2016-12-26
    F/V nd 93159 ts sank due to collision in 19-47.5N 106-26.3E
  16. HYDROPAC 3992/16 · Cable ops2016-12-24 → 2016-12-29
    Cable repair operations in progress until 28 dec by cableship lodbrog in vicinity 09-06.8N 108-27.3E
  17. HYDROPAC 3986/16 · Cable ops2016-12-24 → 2016-12-24
    Cable repair operations in progress until further notice by cableship lodbrog in vicinity 09-06.8N 108-27.3E
  18. HYDROPAC 3984/16 · Derelicts2016-12-24 → 2017-01-11
    F/V py 91049 ts disabled and flooding in 19-10N 119-25E at 240025Z dec
  19. HYDROPAC 3977/16 · Derelicts2016-12-23 → 2016-12-23
    F/V bd 96668 ts disabled and adrift in 13-13N 110-21E at 230200Z dec
  20. HYDROPAC 3946/16 · Derelicts2016-12-21 → 2016-12-24
    Derelict F/V, partially submerged and adrift in 02-01.45N 104-38.80E at 210805Z dec

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