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 3729/13 · Derelicts2013-11-29 → 2013-12-02
    Derelict vessel theresa bitung adrift in 08-32.67N 111-25.57E at 290015Z nov
  2. HYDROPAC 3724/13 · Wrecks2013-11-29 → 2013-12-12
    F/V na 90249 ts sank in 18-47N 107-07E
  3. HYDROPAC 3723/13 · Exercises2013-11-28 → 2013-12-31
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 02 thru 06, 09 thru 13, 16 thru 20, 23 thru 27, 30 and 31 dec: a. in…
  4. HYDROPAC 3701/13 · Derelicts2013-11-27 → 2013-11-29
    Derelict vessel theresa bitung adrift in 09-33.3N 111-36.7E
  5. HYDROPAC 3660/13 · Nav aids2013-11-26 → 2015-09-07
    Vietnam-southeast coast chart 93440 mui dinh light 11-21.5N 109-01.1E changed to: FL(2+1)W 20 sec 26 miles
  6. HYDROPAC 3622/13 · Cable ops2013-11-22 → 2014-01-15
    Seismic survey in progress until further notice by M/V bgp pioneer towing six 6400 meter long cables in area…
  7. HYDROPAC 3620/13 · Cable ops2013-11-22 → 2014-07-01
    Cable laying operations in progress until 30 jun 14 vicinity of trackline between 23-35.1N 119-29.3E and…
  8. HYDROPAC 3606/13 · Exercises2013-11-20 → 2013-11-28
    Gunnery exercises 0900Z to 1400Z daily 25 and 28 nov: a. in area between 22-34.9N 22-54.9N and 119-25.5E…
  9. HYDROPAC 3580/13 · Exercises2013-11-18 → 2013-11-19
    Gunnery exercises 182300Z to 190900Z nov in area bound by 14-43.8N 119-55.5E, 14-23.1N 119-55.5E, 14-24.1N…
  10. HYDROPAC 3519/13 · Exercises2013-11-13 → 2013-11-22
    Gunnery exercises 2300Z to 0930Z commencing daily 17 thru 21 nov: a. in area bound by 22-34N 118-55E, 22-59N…
  11. HYDROPAC 3489/13 · Derelicts2013-11-09 → 2013-11-12
    Derelict barge adrift in 21-48N 119-25E at 090800Z nov
  12. HYDROPAC 3465/13 · Other2013-11-07 → 2013-11-07
    M/V heunga dragon crew abandoning ship due to collision vicinity 10-00N 107-00E at 071712Z nov
  13. HYDROPAC 3451/13 · Exercises2013-11-06 → 2013-11-15
    Gunnery exercises 2300Z to 0900Z commencing daily 10 thru 14 nov: a. in area bound by 25-48.0N 120-48.0E,…
  14. HYDROPAC 3450/13 · Exercises2013-11-06 → 2013-11-22
    Gunnery exercises 2300Z to 0930Z commencing daily 10 thru 21 nov: a. in area bound by 24-48N 119-50E, 24-48N…
  15. HYDROPAC 3393/13 · Piracy2013-10-31 → 2013-11-09
    M/V attacked in 01-21.2N 104-24.3E at 292045Z oct
  16. HYDROPAC 3358/13 · Exercises2013-10-29 → 2013-11-29
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 01, 04 thru 08, 11 thru 15, 18 thru 22 and 25 thru 29 nov: a. in area…
  17. HYDROPAC 3357/13 · Exercises2013-10-29 → 2013-11-29
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 01, 04 thru 08, 11 thru 15, 18 thru 22 and 25 thru 29 nov: a. in area…
  18. HYDROPAC 3338/13 · Cable ops2013-10-27 → 2013-12-04
    Seismic survey in progress until 05 dec by M/V western spirit towing eight 8500 meter long cables in area…
  19. HYDROPAC 3324/13 · Cable ops2013-10-25 → 2013-10-27
    Seismic survey 26 oct thru 05 dec by M/V western spirit towing eight 8500 meter long cables in area bound by…
  20. HYDROPAC 3315/13 · Cable ops2013-10-24 → 2013-11-21
    Pipeline operations 25 oct thru 20 nov by M/V lewek champion in 08-10-27N 108-33-04E

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