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 3506/15 · Other2015-10-25 → 2015-10-28
    Several 20 meter long hoses adrift in 16-12.9N 116-11.6E
  2. HYDROPAC 3362/15 · Other2015-10-13 → 2015-11-01
    Five persons overboard vicinity 19-00N 114-40E
  3. HYDROPAC 3359/15 · Exercises2015-10-12 → 2015-10-17
    Torpedo firing exercises in progress until 162359Z oct in area bound by 11-36.20N 109-19.00E, 11-55.12N…
  4. HYDROPAC 3352/15 · Other2015-10-11 → 2015-10-13
    Five persons overboard vicinity 18-39N 115-18E
  5. HYDROPAC 3345/15 · Other2015-10-11 → 2015-10-11
    Five persons overboard vicinity 18-11N 116-55E
  6. HYDROPAC 3322/15 · Other2015-10-09 → 2015-10-11
    Five persons overboard vicinity 18-21N 116-15E
  7. HYDROPAC 3271/15 · Wrecks2015-10-03 → 2017-01-06
    Dangerous wreck in 20-41.31N 107-01.71E
  8. HYDROPAC 3225/15 · Surveys2015-09-28 → 2015-11-01
    Survey operations 30 sep thru 31 oct by M/V ptsc surveyor in areas bound by: a. 07-59.42N 108-09.77E,…
  9. HYDROPAC 3219/15 · Exercises2015-09-28 → 2015-10-30
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 02, 05, 07, 09, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28 and 30 oct, 0001Z to…
  10. HYDROPAC 3211/15 · Exercises2015-09-26 → 2015-10-30
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 01, 02, 05 thru 08, 12 thru 16, 19 thru 23 and 26 thru 30 oct: a. in…
  11. HYDROPAC 3201/15 · Surveys2015-09-25 → 2015-10-03
    Survey operations in progress until 02 oct by M/V ptsc surveyor in 08-24.16N 108-41.40E
  12. HYDROPAC 3177/15 · Exercises2015-09-24 → 2015-10-16
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0200Z daily 29 sep and 01 oct, 0530Z to 0730Z daily 29, 30 sep and 02 oct, 0200Z…
  13. HYDROPAC 3176/15 · Exercises2015-09-24 → 2015-10-16
    Gunnery exercises 2330Z to 0330Z commencing daily 28 sep thru 01 oct, 11 thru 15 oct, 0530Z to 0900Z daily…
  14. HYDROPAC 3170/15 · Exercises2015-09-24 → 2015-10-16
    Gunnery exercises 2300Z to 0330Z commencing daily 24 sep, 04 thru 07 and 11 thru 15 oct, 0530Z to 0900Z…
  15. HYDROPAC 3124/15 · Cable ops2015-09-20 → 2015-10-23
    Pipeline repair operations in progress until 22 oct by M/V discovery 01: a. along trackline between…
  16. HYDROPAC 3098/15 · Derelicts2015-09-17 → 2015-09-20
    Derelict vessel adrift vicinity 18-54.1N 117-02.9E at 170651Z sep
  17. HYDROPAC 3096/15 · Cable ops2015-09-17 → 2015-11-01
    Cable repair operations in progress until 31 oct vicinity of trackline joining 20-49-25N 120-44-19E,…
  18. HYDROPAC 3095/15 · Derelicts2015-09-17 → 2015-09-20
    Derelict vessel adrift vicinity 19-32.8N 117-28.2E at 170310Z sep
  19. HYDROPAC 3094/15 · Debris2015-09-17 → 2015-09-20
    Object adrift vicinity 07-13.0N 108-03.1E at 160415Z sep
  20. HYDROPAC 3076/15 · Exercises2015-09-16 → 2015-10-16
    Gunnery exercises 2300Z to 1000Z commencing daily 20 sep thru 15 oct a. in area bound by 25-48.0N 120-48E…

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