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 2113/22 · Exercises2022-08-02 → 2022-08-07
    Gunnery exercise 040400Z to 070400Z aug in area bound by 21-14.00N 121-33.00E, 21-33.00N 121-18.00E,…
  2. HYDROPAC 2082/22 · Derelicts2022-07-31 → 2022-08-03
    Derelict vessel partially submerged and adrift in vicinity 01-25.70N 104-26.40E at 301105Z jul
  3. HYDROPAC 2023/22 · Other2022-07-24 → 2022-07-25
    F/V qna 91368 ts reports crewman with urinary retention in 16-00.00N 114-00.00E at 241000Z jul
  4. HYDROPAC 2011/22 · Missiles2022-07-23 → 2022-07-24
    Hazardous operations, rocket launching 240530Z to 240730Z in areas bound by: a. 14-33.32N 117-30.05E,…
  5. HYDROPAC 1820/22 · Other2022-07-04 → 2022-07-05
    F/V bd 98559 ts crewman with serious injury requiring medical assistance in 15-30.00N 111-17.00E at 041223Z…
  6. HYDROPAC 1651/22 · Cable ops2022-06-15 → 2022-07-02
    Cable operations in progress until 01 jul by cableship teneo in vicinity 03-49.50N 105-22.00E
  7. HYDROPAC 1614/22 · Other2022-06-11 → 2022-06-12
    F/V qna 95005 ts flooding in 08-03.00N 115-39.00E at 111302Z jun
  8. HYDROPAC 1567/22 · Cable ops2022-06-05 → 2022-06-13
    Cable operation 07 thru 17 jun by cableship teneo in vicinity 03-54.20N 104-18.50E
  9. HYDROPAC 1499/22 · Other2022-05-29 → 2022-05-31
    F/V dna 90677 ts reports crewman requiring medical assistance in 16-20.00N 109-52.00E at 290519Z may
  10. HYDROPAC 1253/22 · Missiles2022-05-08 → 2022-05-09
    Hazardous operations, rocket launching 091740Z to 091840Z in area bound by 13-24-36N 117-49-47E, 13-56-23N…
  11. HYDROPAC 1144/22 · Missiles2022-04-27 → 2022-04-29
    Hazardous operations, rocket launching 290230Z to 290430Z apr in area bound by 17-07-26N 118-14-28E,…
  12. HYDROPAC 1000/22 · Exercises2022-04-11 → 2022-04-19
    Hazardous operations 1700Z to 2100Z daily 15 thru 19 apr in area bound by 15-13-12N 109-38-10E, 15-11-20N…
  13. HYDROPAC 911/22 · Derelicts2022-04-05 → 2022-04-08
    Derelict lifeboat adrift in vicinity 21-12.3N 113-20.6E at 050248Z apr
  14. HYDROPAC 909/22 · Derelicts2022-04-05 → 2022-04-06
    F/V nt 90974TS and F/V nt 91205TS disabled and adrift due to engine failure in 10-13N 109-18E on 04 apr
  15. HYDROPAC 573/22 · Other2022-03-03 → 2022-03-06
    Two persons overboard from F/V in 10-19N 108-01E
  16. HYDROPAC 550/22 · Cable ops2022-03-02 → 2022-03-14
    Malaysia DNC 03, DNC 11
  17. HYDROPAC 489/22 · Cable ops2022-02-24 → 2022-03-21
    Cable operations in progress until 20 mar by cableship asean explorer in area bound by 18-33.1N 119-17.6E,…
  18. HYDROPAC 344/22 · Cable ops2022-02-08 → 2022-02-16
    Cable operations 092200Z feb until further notice by cableship lodbrog in area bound by 21-39.4N 114-22.7E,…
  19. HYDROPAC 247/22 · Surveys2022-01-29 → 2022-03-03
    Salvage operations in progress until further notice in vicinity 17-50N 117-36E by U.S
  20. HYDROPAC 244/22 · Surveys2022-01-29 → 2022-01-29
    Salvage operations in progress until further notice in vicinity 17-50N 117-36E

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