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 1116/10 · Cable ops2010-05-29 → 2010-06-01
    Seismic survey 310100Z may to 011400Z jul by M/V western spirit towing eight 6000 meter long cables in area…
  2. HYDROPAC 1108/10 · Exercises2010-05-28 → 2010-06-30
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0400Z daily 02, 09, 23 and 30 jun within ten miles of 23-34.9N 119-10.5E
  3. HYDROPAC 1096/10 · Exercises2010-05-27 → 2010-06-30
    Gunnery exercises 0100Z to 0900Z daily 01 thru 04, 07 thru 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 21 thru 25 and 28 thru 30 jun…
  4. HYDROPAC 1094/10 · Derelicts2010-05-27 → 2010-05-30
    Derelict 20 foot vessel adrift in 16-10.7N 118-43.2E
  5. HYDROPAC 1091/10 · Cable ops2010-05-26 → 2010-05-31
    Seismic survey 271000Z to 302359Z may by M/V western spirit towing eight 6000 meter long cables in area…
  6. HYDROPAC 962/10 · Piracy2010-05-10 → 2010-05-24
    Vessels attacked in: a. 03-22.3N 105-27.2E at 081645Z may
  7. HYDROPAC 916/10 · Piracy2010-05-04 → 2010-05-15
    M/V towing barge attacked in 03-50N 103-41E at 012230Z may
  8. HYDROPAC 902/10 · Towing2010-05-01 → 2010-05-17
    30 meter M/V atlantic 3, black hull, towing 96 meter barge atlantic 5, black hull, unreported to kintop,…
  9. HYDROPAC 899/10 · Exercises2010-04-30 → 2010-05-26
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0400Z daily 05, 12, 19 and 26 may within ten miles of 23-34.9N 119-10.5E
  10. HYDROPAC 892/10 · Piracy2010-04-29 → 2010-05-08
    M/V towing barge attacked in 04-44.2N 103-58.1E at 271333Z apr
  11. HYDROPAC 889/10 · Exercises2010-04-28 → 2010-05-31
    Gunnery exercises 0100Z to 0900Z daily 03 thru 07, 10 thru 14, 17 thru 21, 24 thru 28 and 31 may within 15…
  12. HYDROPAC 872/10 · Other2010-04-26 → 2010-06-23
    Pipelaying operations 01 may thru 22 jun vicinity of trackline between 07-20-46N 108-18-50E and 08-10-27N…
  13. HYDROPAC 834/10 · Piracy2010-04-22 → 2010-04-24
    M/V towing barge hijacked in 04-32N 104-29E at 192228Z apr
  14. HYDROPAC 819/10 · Piracy2010-04-21 → 2010-05-05
    M/V hijacked in 03-00N 106-00E at 181915Z apr
  15. HYDROPAC 756/10 · Cable ops2010-04-13 → 2010-04-26
    Cable repair operations 17 thru 28 apr by M/V kdd ocean link in area bound by 21-21.6N 119-51.7E, 21-11.7N…
  16. HYDROPAC 733/10 · Piracy2010-04-10 → 2010-04-18
    M/V attacked in 03-14.9N 105-26.7E at 081755Z apr
  17. HYDROPAC 720/10 · Piracy2010-04-09 → 2010-04-18
    Eight pirates armed with knives boarded a tanker underway in 02-44.2N 105-16.3E at 071500Z apr
  18. HYDROPAC 688/10 · Other2010-04-05 → 2010-05-23
    Nga chart 71027 (9TH ed)
  19. HYDROPAC 681/10 · Piracy2010-04-04 → 2010-04-18
    M/V attacked vicinity 10-38.1N 106-46.1E at 021930Z apr
  20. HYDROPAC 668/10 · Exercises2010-04-02 → 2010-04-28
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0400Z daily 07, 14, 21 and 28 apr within ten miles of 23-34.9N 119-10.5E

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