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 116/15 · Cable ops2015-01-12 → 2015-01-24
    Cable repair operations 13 thru 23 jan by cableship cable retriever in area bound by 09-40.93N 107-35.27E,…
  2. HYDROPAC 68/15 · Cable ops2015-01-07 → 2015-01-15
    Seismic survey in progress until 20 jan by M/V wg vespucci towing ten 8100 meter long cables in area bound…
  3. HYDROPAC 12/15 · Other2015-01-01 → 2015-01-04
    F/V bp 97153 ts reports crewman requiring medical assistance in 11-45N 111-17E AT010300Z jan
  4. HYDROPAC 3898/14 · Exercises2014-12-31 → 2015-01-30
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 05 thru 09, 12 thru 16, 19 thru 23 and 26 thru 30 jan 15: a. in area…
  5. HYDROPAC 3897/14 · Exercises2014-12-31 → 2015-01-30
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 05 thru 09, 12 thru 16, 19 thru 23 and 26 thru 30 jan 15: a. in area…
  6. HYDROPAC 3896/14 · Exercises2014-12-31 → 2015-02-13
    Gunnery exercises 0100Z to 0300Z and 0600Z to 0800Z daily 05 jan thru 13 feb 15: a. in area bound by 24-48N…
  7. HYDROPAC 3831/14 · Cable ops2014-12-23 → 2015-01-11
    Seismic survey in progress until 20 jan 15 by M/V pgs apollo towing ten 8000 meter long cables in area bound…
  8. HYDROPAC 3828/14 · Surveys2014-12-22 → 2014-12-31
    Underwater operations 0001Z to 1200Z daily until 31 dec in area bound by 18-51.0N 108-14.0E, 18-50.2N…
  9. HYDROPAC 3763/14 · Containers2014-12-17 → 2014-12-20
    Containers adrift at 130910Z dec: a. 15-44.3N 108-49.3E
  10. HYDROPAC 3753/14 · Cable ops2014-12-15 → 2015-01-07
    Seismic survey in progress until 10 jan 15 by M/V wg vespucci towing ten 8100 meter long cables in area…
  11. HYDROPAC 3738/14 · Containers2014-12-13 → 2014-12-16
    Eight containers adrift in 15-44.30N 108-49.30E at 130910Z dec
  12. HYDROPAC 3735/14 · Containers2014-12-13 → 2014-12-13
    Eight containers adrift in 15-44.3N 108-49.3E at 130910Z dec
  13. HYDROPAC 3661/14 · Piracy2014-12-07 → 2014-12-20
    M/V attacked in 02-15.15N 104-49.30E at 062130Z dec
  14. HYDROPAC 3619/14 · Piracy2014-12-03 → 2014-12-05
    F/V attacked in 11-02N 115-58E at 020400Z dec
  15. HYDROPAC 3607/14 · Cable ops2014-12-02 → 2014-12-22
    Cable repair operations in progress until 21 dec by cableship asean explorer in area bound by 04-01.6N…
  16. HYDROPAC 3581/14 · Other2014-11-30 → 2014-12-06
    F/V QNG98168-TS reports crewman requiring medical assistance in 16-43N 108-33E at 292100Z nov
  17. HYDROPAC 3563/14 · Other2014-11-29 → 2014-11-29
    M/V cosco prince rupert reports crewman requiring medical assistance in 13-51N 110-30E at 290300Z nov
  18. HYDROPAC 3538/14 · Derelicts2014-11-27 → 2014-11-30
    Derelict F/V partially submerged and adrift in 02-01.49N 104-44.95E at 211055Z nov
  19. HYDROPAC 3528/14 · Other2014-11-26 → 2018-09-07
    Dangerous werck in 12-03.08N 109-22.00E
  20. HYDROPAC 3527/14 · Exercises2014-11-26 → 2014-12-31
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 01 thru 05, 08 thru 12, 15 thru 19, 22 thru 26 and 29 thru 31 dec: a.…

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