South China Sea

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

in force
10
last 12 months
6
since 1993
2,333
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 ops57225%
Exercises56624%
Other30713%
Derelicts30313%
Wrecks1547%
Piracy1376%
Surveys1356%
Missiles532%
Nav aids502%
Containers352%
Debris131%
Towing70%
Volcanic10%

Archive · 2,323 cancelled

  1. HYDROPAC 3880/23 · Nav aids2023-12-11 → 2026-08-14
    Racon at south cardinal buoy at 01-03.61N 103-38.96E in South China Sea near Indonesia is temporarily removed.
  2. HYDROPAC 3822/23 · Nav aids2023-12-04 → 2026-08-14
    NAVTEX station Manila at 14-30.30N 121-03.90E in the South China Sea, Philippines, is off air.
  3. HYDROPAC 3809/23 · Derelicts2023-12-03 → 2023-12-06
    Derelict F/V bt 94781 ts semi-submerged and adrift in vicinity 08-32.83N 105-25.66E at 031024Z dec
  4. HYDROPAC 3801/23 · Missiles2023-12-02 → 2023-12-07
    Hazardous operations, rocket launching 1800Z to 2359Z daily 05 and 06 dec in area bound by 08-03.00N…
  5. HYDROPAC 3741/23 · Derelicts2023-11-26 → 2023-11-27
    F/V bd 98833 ts disabled and adrift in 11-20.00N 111-23.00E at 252000Z nov
  6. HYDROPAC 3581/23 · Exercises2023-11-14 → 2023-12-01
    Gunnery exercises 15 thru 30 nov in area bound by 10-08.63N 118-15.13E, 10-08.63N 118-20.28E, 10-13.71N…
  7. HYDROPAC 3387/23 · Other2023-10-26 → 2023-11-07
    Two life rings and two life jackets reported adrift in vicinity 08-01.43N 108-41.15E at 260748Z oct
  8. HYDROPAC 3283/23 · Nav aids2023-10-15 → 2023-12-11
    RACON at south cardinal buoy 01-03.61N 103-38.96E inoperative
  9. HYDROPAC 3226/23 · Other2023-10-09 → 2023-10-27
    Vessel on fire in vicinity 05-39.70N 104-54.00E
  10. HYDROPAC 2908/23 · Derelicts2023-09-10 → 2023-09-11
    M/V golden maple disabled and adrift due to engine failure in vicinity 02-01.00N 105-13.60E at 091457Z sep
  11. HYDROPAC 2891/23 · Nav aids2023-09-08 → 2023-09-10
    NAVTEX station hong kong (l) 22-12.60N 114-15.00E unreliable
  12. HYDROPAC 2860/23 · Cable ops2023-09-06 → 2023-09-15
    Cable operations in progress until 16 sep by cableship teneo along trackline joining 01-17.10N 104-28.00E,…
  13. HYDROPAC 2716/23 · Surveys2023-08-23 → 2023-12-06
    Survey operations in progress until further notice by M/V ramform sovereign towing 12 9000 meter long cables…
  14. HYDROPAC 2640/23 · Exercises2023-08-16 → 2023-08-17
    Gunnery exercises in progress until 170200Z aug in area bound by 01-48.00S 107-08.00E, 01-55.00S 107-08.00E,…
  15. HYDROPAC 2638/23 · Exercises2023-08-15 → 2023-08-16
    Hazardous operations in progress until 170100Z aug in area bound by 01-48.00S 107-08.00E, 01-55.00S…
  16. HYDROPAC 2598/23 · Piracy2023-08-12 → 2023-08-15
    M/V boarded by eight armed robbers in 14-35.60N 120-50.50E at 101602Z aug
  17. HYDROPAC 2555/23 · Missiles2023-08-08 → 2023-08-08
    Hazardous operations, space debris 130400Z to 131000Z aug in area bound by 21-21.00N 111-00.00E, 21-13.00N…
  18. HYDROPAC 2554/23 · Other2023-08-08 → 2023-08-08
    F/V dna 90378TS reports crewman with hand injury in 14-00.00N 110-36.00E at 080100Z aug
  19. HYDROPAC 2536/23 · Cable ops2023-08-06 → 2023-10-11
    Cable operations 11 aug thru 10 oct by cableship dependable along trackline joining 21-30.00N 125-34.10E,…
  20. HYDROPAC 2265/23 · Other2023-07-11 → 2023-07-11
    F/V qb 98603 ts reports crewman requiring medical assistance in 17-50.00N 107-45.00E at 102335Z jul

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