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 888/12 · Exercises2012-03-28 → 2012-04-30
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 02 thru 06, 09 thru 13, 16 thru 20, 23 thru 27 and 30 apr: a. in area…
  2. HYDROPAC 887/12 · Exercises2012-03-28 → 2012-04-27
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 02, 09, 11, 16, 23 and 25 and 0001Z to 0900Z daily 03, 05, 06, 10,…
  3. HYDROPAC 819/12 · Exercises2012-03-21 → 2012-03-30
    Gunnery exercises 2300Z to 0430Z commencing daily 25 thru 29 mar and 0530Z to 0930Z daily 26 thru 30 mar: a.…
  4. HYDROPAC 788/12 · Cable ops2012-03-18 → 2012-04-05
    Seismic survey in progress until 20 apr by M/V viking II towing six mile long cable in area bound by…
  5. HYDROPAC 774/12 · Derelicts2012-03-16 → 2012-03-18
    F/V py 96265TS disabled and adrift in 13-02N 112-04E at 101100Z mar
  6. HYDROPAC 584/12 · Wrecks2012-02-29 → 2012-03-10
    Vessel akari aground in 20-39-51.1N 106-52-12.0E
  7. HYDROPAC 581/12 · Other2012-02-29 → 2012-03-02
    F/V qng 95563 ts reports crewman requiring medical assistance in 13-00N 113-00E at 282300Z feb
  8. HYDROPAC 541/12 · Exercises2012-02-25 → 2012-03-30
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 01, 02, 05 thru 09, 12 thru 16, 19 thru 23 and 26 thru 30 mar: a. in…
  9. HYDROPAC 540/12 · Exercises2012-02-25 → 2012-03-30
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 01, 02, 05 thru 09, 12 thru 16, 19 thru 23 and 26 thru 30 mar: a. in…
  10. HYDROPAC 466/12 · Exercises2012-02-18 → 2012-02-24
    Gunnery exercises 2300Z to 0430Z commencing daily 19 thru 23 feb and 0530Z to 0930Z daily 20 thru 24 feb: a.…
  11. HYDROPAC 430/12 · Exercises2012-02-15 → 2012-02-27
    Gunnery exercises 200530Z to 200730Z and 200800Z to 201100Z, 220130Z to 220330Z, 221000Z to 221200Z and…
  12. HYDROPAC 399/12 · Cable ops2012-02-13 → 2012-02-29
    Seismic survey in progress until 28 feb by M/V western spirit towing six four mile long cables in area bound…
  13. HYDROPAC 357/12 · Other2012-02-09 → 2012-02-10
    F/V py 2014TS reports crewman requiring medical assistance in 15-09N 112-21E at 082100Z feb
  14. HYDROPAC 354/12 · Wrecks2012-02-09 → 2013-03-16
    Gulf of Tonkin
  15. HYDROPAC 238/12 · Exercises2012-01-27 → 2012-02-29
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 01 thru 03, 07 thru 10, 14 thru 17, 21 thru 24 and 29 feb: a. in area…
  16. HYDROPAC 237/12 · Exercises2012-01-27 → 2012-02-29
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 01 thru 03, 06 thru 10, 13 thru 17, 20 thru 24 and 27 thru 29 feb: a.…
  17. HYDROPAC 219/12 · Debris2012-01-26 → 2012-01-29
    Green pillar buoy adrift vicinity 09-23.3N 110-02.0E at 260200Z jan
  18. HYDROPAC 141/12 · Piracy2012-01-17 → 2012-01-31
    Possible pirate activity in 01-20N 104-24E
  19. HYDROPAC 3639/11 · Derelicts2011-12-31 → 2012-01-03
    Derelict eight meter lifeboat, orange hull, adrift in 20-04.3N 119-25.9E at 310450Z dec
  20. HYDROPAC 3629/11 · Containers2011-12-30 → 2012-01-02
    Container adrift in 22-35.3N 116-48.2E at 300648Z dec

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