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 1511/09 · Cable ops2009-08-23 → 2009-08-29
    Seismic survey in progress until 31 aug by M/V western spirit towing five 8000 meter long cables in vicinity…
  2. HYDROPAC 1504/09 · Cable ops2009-08-22 → 2009-09-21
    Seismic survey in progress until 20 sep by M/V veritas voyager towing 4000 meter long cable in area bound by…
  3. HYDROPAC 1498/09 · Derelicts2009-08-21 → 2009-08-25
    Derelict 300 foot barge matahari 3018 adrift in 11-02.4N 111-51.3E at 201330Z aug
  4. HYDROPAC 1470/09 · Other2009-08-19 → 2009-09-05
    Vessel supertramp and unknown vessel collided in 08-59.5N 107-04.0E at 181900Z aug
  5. HYDROPAC 1423/09 · Cable ops2009-08-10 → 2009-08-29
    Cable laying operations 13 aug until further notice by cableship rene descartes: a. vicinity 09-10.4N…
  6. HYDROPAC 1417/09 · Cable ops2009-08-09 → 2009-08-10
    Cable laying operations 13 aug until further notice by cableship rene descartes vicinity of trackline…
  7. HYDROPAC 1413/09 · Exercises2009-08-09 → 2009-08-13
    Gunnery exercises 2300Z to 1000Z commencing daily 11 and 12 aug within 15 miles of 22-44-54N 119-35-29E
  8. HYDROPAC 1402/09 · Piracy2009-08-06 → 2009-08-17
    Five pirates armed with knives boarded a M/V underway in 02-51.7N 105-06.1E at 011630Z aug
  9. HYDROPAC 1384/09 · Derelicts2009-08-04 → 2009-08-11
    Derelict barge mann 3001 adrift in 09-23.9N 107-12.3E
  10. HYDROPAC 1381/09 · Derelicts2009-08-03 → 2009-08-03
    Derelict 300 foot barge matahari, black hull, adrift vicinity 09-36.50N 106-38.17E on 31 jul
  11. HYDROPAC 1375/09 · Derelicts2009-08-01 → 2009-08-08
    Derelict 300 foot barge matahari 3018, black hull, adrift vicinity 09-36.5N 106-38.2E on 31 jul
  12. HYDROPAC 1372/09 · Cable ops2009-08-01 → 2009-09-09
    Seismic survey 05 aug thru 08 sep by M/V orient explorer towing 6000 meter mile long cable in area bound by…
  13. HYDROPAC 1371/09 · Piracy2009-08-01 → 2009-08-08
    12 pirates in a seven meter vessel approached a container ship underway in 04-39.2N 112-45.0E at 281357Z jul
  14. HYDROPAC 1299/09 · Cable ops2009-07-19 → 2009-08-04
    Cable laying operations 21 jul until further notice by cableship rene descartes vicinity 22-09.8N 114-32.6E
  15. HYDROPAC 1298/09 · Derelicts2009-07-19 → 2009-07-26
    Derelict barge mann 3001 adrift in 10-03.48N 108-21.21E at 162315Z jul
  16. HYDROPAC 1290/09 · Exercises2009-07-17 → 2009-07-23
    Gunnery exercise 2300Z to 1000Z commencing daily 21 and 22 jul within 15 miles of 22-44.9N 119-35.5E
  17. HYDROPAC 1287/09 · Cable ops2009-07-16 → 2009-08-08
    Submarine cable repair operations in progress until 07 aug by M/V tycom reliance vicinity of 01-41.6N…
  18. HYDROPAC 1202/09 · Piracy2009-06-30 → 2009-07-14
    Six armed pirates in a small vessel boarded a M/V underway in 01-57.2N 104-47.8E at 271715Z jun
  19. HYDROPAC 1194/09 · Piracy2009-06-28 → 2009-07-12
    Six pirates armed with knives, crowbars and batons boarded an lpg tanker underway in 02-47.1N 105-07.6E at…
  20. HYDROPAC 1187/09 · Piracy2009-06-27 → 2009-07-11
    Eight pirates armed with long knives boarded a general cargo vessel underway in 02-58N 105-11E at 251930Z jun

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