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 1764/10 · Piracy2010-09-01 → 2010-09-11
    Vessel attacked in 03-03.8N 105-21.6E at 301630Z aug
  2. HYDROPAC 1755/10 · Piracy2010-08-30 → 2010-09-13
    Vessel attacked in 02-59.7N 105-12.2E at 301854Z aug
  3. HYDROPAC 1739/10 · Exercises2010-08-27 → 2010-09-13
    Gunnery exercises 0100Z to 0900Z daily 01, 02, 06 thru 08, 10, 13 thru 16, 20, 21 and 27 thru 30 sep: a. in…
  4. HYDROPAC 1706/10 · Piracy2010-08-22 → 2010-09-05
    Vessel attacked in 03-11.2N 105-22.2E at 211500Z aug
  5. HYDROPAC 1696/10 · Piracy2010-08-20 → 2010-08-28
    Possible attempted pirate attack reported in 05-12.8N 106-32.6E at 192020Z aug
  6. HYDROPAC 1688/10 · Exercises2010-08-19 → 2010-08-24
    Gunnery exercises 240500Z to 240630Z aug: a. in area bound by 23-05N 119-37E, 23-04N 119-44E, 22-13N…
  7. HYDROPAC 1686/10 · Piracy2010-08-19 → 2010-08-28
    Vessel attacked in 03-05N 105-24E at 171950Z aug
  8. HYDROPAC 1675/10 · Piracy2010-08-18 → 2010-08-28
    Vessel attacked in 03-17N 105-29E at 162040Z aug
  9. HYDROPAC 1666/10 · Piracy2010-08-17 → 2010-08-28
    Vessel attacked in 03-05N 105-07E at 161848Z aug
  10. HYDROPAC 1665/10 · Piracy2010-08-17 → 2010-08-28
    Vessel attacked in 03-15.0N 105-18.5E at 151845Z aug
  11. HYDROPAC 1663/10 · Cable ops2010-08-17 → 2010-08-31
    Cable laying operations in progress until 30 aug in area bound by 21-20-57N 115-25-22E, 21-10-33N…
  12. HYDROPAC 1648/10 · Piracy2010-08-14 → 2010-08-21
    M/V attacked in 01-26N 106-49E at 121245Z aug
  13. HYDROPAC 1599/10 · Exercises2010-08-07 → 2010-08-27
    Gunnery exercises 2300Z to 0900Z commencing daily 11 thru 26 aug: a. in area bound by 25-48.0N 120-48.0E,…
  14. HYDROPAC 1598/10 · Piracy2010-08-07 → 2010-08-14
    M/V attacked in 02-51N 105-22E at 051750Z aug
  15. HYDROPAC 1586/10 · Exercises2010-08-06 → 2010-08-11
    Gunnery exercises 0130Z to 0330Z and 0630Z to 0830Z daily 09 thru 11 aug: a. in area bound by 25-48.0N…
  16. HYDROPAC 1566/10 · Exercises2010-08-02 → 2010-08-06
    Gunnery exercises 0130Z to 0330Z and 0630Z to 0830Z daily 03 thur 06 aug: a. in area bound by 25-48.0N…
  17. HYDROPAC 1549/10 · Exercises2010-07-30 → 2010-08-25
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0400Z daily 04, 11, 18 and 25 aug: a. in area between 23-29.9N 23-39.9N and…
  18. HYDROPAC 1530/10 · Exercises2010-07-28 → 2010-08-31
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0900Z daily 02 thru 06, 10, 13, 16 thru 20, 23 thru 27, 30 and 31 aug, 090100Z to…
  19. HYDROPAC 1525/10 · Cable ops2010-07-27 → 2010-09-06
    Seismic survey 01 aug thru 30 nov by M/V geowave voyager towing ten 8000 meter long cables in area bound by…
  20. HYDROPAC 1482/10 · Piracy2010-07-20 → 2010-07-31
    Vessel attacked in 01-59N 109-00E at 121845Z jul

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