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 264/13 · Other2013-01-26 → 2013-03-21
    Pipelaying operations 31 jan thru 20 mar by M/V lewek champion vicinity of trackline between 07-20-44N…
  2. HYDROPAC 187/13 · Derelicts2013-01-19 → 2013-01-22
    Derelict F/V SF2-5599 partially submerged and adrift in 01-59.83N 104-39.28E
  3. HYDROPAC 126/13 · Derelicts2013-01-12 → 2013-01-15
    Derelict 25 meter F/V luk fung 50021 partially submerged and adrift in 18-03N 117-03E
  4. HYDROPAC 36/13 · Derelicts2013-01-06 → 2013-01-07
    F/V bd 96329-TS disabled and adrift due to engine trouble in 14-55N 111-41E at 050001Z jan
  5. HYDROPAC 3722/12 · Exercises2012-12-28 → 2013-01-31
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 02 thru 04, 07 thru 11, 14 thru 18, 21 thru 25 and 28 thru 31 jan: a.…
  6. HYDROPAC 3721/12 · Exercises2012-12-28 → 2013-01-30
    Gunnery exercises 0530Z to 0900Z daily 02, 04, 09, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25 and 30 jan 13: a. in area between…
  7. HYDROPAC 3672/12 · Other2012-12-24 → 2012-12-29
    F/V bd 95227-TS reports crewman requiring medical assistance in 16-27N 114-10E at 240430Z dec
  8. HYDROPAC 3657/12 · Cable ops2012-12-22 → 2013-03-01
    Cable repair operations in progress until 28 feb 13 by cableship cable retriever vicinity of tracklines…
  9. HYDROPAC 3489/12 · Cable ops2012-12-08 → 2012-12-22
    Cable repair operations 09 dec thru 28 feb 13 by cableship cable retriever vicinity of trackline between…
  10. HYDROPAC 3410/12 · Cable ops2012-12-02 → 2012-12-21
    Seismic survey 05 thru 20 dec by M/V western patriot towing eight 3000 meter long cables in: a. area bound…
  11. HYDROPAC 3393/12 · Exercises2012-11-30 → 2012-12-28
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 03 thru 07, 10 thru 14, 17 thru 21 and 24 thru 28 dec: a. in area…
  12. HYDROPAC 3392/12 · Exercises2012-11-30 → 2012-12-28
    Gunnery exercises 0530Z to 0900Z daily 05, 07, 12, 14, 19, 21, 26 and 28 dec: a. in area between 22-34.9N…
  13. HYDROPAC 3382/12 · Cable ops2012-11-29 → 2013-02-01
    Seismic survey 01 dec thru 31 jan 13 by M/V western spirit towing ten 7000 meter long cables in area bound…
  14. HYDROPAC 3272/12 · Exercises2012-11-20 → 2012-12-04
    Gunnery exercises 210900Z to 211500Z nov, alternate 0900Z to 1500Z daily 22, 23, 26 thru 30 nov, 03 and 04…
  15. HYDROPAC 3269/12 · Piracy2012-11-19 → 2012-11-23
    M/V zafirah possibly hijacked in 07-10.16N 109-09.29E on 190841Z nov
  16. HYDROPAC 3162/12 · Cable ops2012-11-08 → 2012-12-01
    Seismic survey in progress until 30 nov in area bound by 19-56N 114-22E, 19-56N 114-34E, 19-47N 114-50E,…
  17. HYDROPAC 3041/12 · Containers2012-10-29 → 2012-11-01
    Six containers adrift in 20-34.98N 106-47.53E at 281230Z oct
  18. HYDROPAC 3030/12 · Exercises2012-10-27 → 2012-11-30
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 01, 02, 05 thru 09, 12 thru 16, 19 thru 23 and 26 thru 30 nov: a. in…
  19. HYDROPAC 3027/12 · Exercises2012-10-27 → 2012-11-30
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 01, 02, 05 thru 09, 12 thru 16, 19 thru 23 and 26 thru 30 nov: a. in…
  20. HYDROPAC 2941/12 · Exercises2012-10-20 → 2012-10-22
    Gunnery exercises 220900Z to 221200Z oct: a. in area between 22-35.0N 22-55.0N and 119-25.0E 119-45.0E

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