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 653/09 · Derelicts2009-04-01 → 2009-04-08
    Derelict 3147 ton barge adrift in 25-16.5N 120-50.0E at 290720Z mar
  2. HYDROPAC 638/09 · Exercises2009-03-28 → 2009-04-30
    Gunnery exercises 0100Z to 0900Z daily 01 thru 03, 06 thru 10, 13 thru 17, 20 thru 24 and 27 thru 30 apr…
  3. HYDROPAC 511/09 · Cable ops2009-03-11 → 2009-04-21
    Cable laying operations in progress until further notice by cableship rene descartes vicinity of tracklines…
  4. HYDROPAC 438/09 · Exercises2009-02-25 → 2009-03-31
    Gunnery exercises 0100Z to 0900Z daily 02 thru 06, 09 thru 13, 16 thru 20, 23 thru 27, 30 and 31 mar within…
  5. HYDROPAC 234/09 · Exercises2009-01-29 → 2009-02-27
    Gunnery exercises 0100Z to 0900Z daily 02 thru 06, 09 thru 13, 16 thru 20 and 23 thru 27 feb within 15 miles…
  6. HYDROPAC 230/09 · Derelicts2009-01-29 → 2009-02-05
    Derelict 3233 ton barge bahari X adrift in 15-01.73N 116-36.93E at 280523Z jan
  7. HYDROPAC 152/09 · Derelicts2009-01-19 → 2009-01-26
    Derelict 3,233 ton barge bahari X adrift in 17-19N 118-29E at 090400Z jan
  8. HYDROPAC 151/09 · Derelicts2009-01-19 → 2009-01-26
    Derelict M/V binh dinh river adrift 04-25N 107-12.5E at 080945Z jan
  9. HYDROPAC 147/09 · Cable ops2009-01-17 → 2009-02-07
    Submarine cable laying operations in progress until further notice by cableship rene descartes vicinity of…
  10. HYDROPAC 125/09 · Cable ops2009-01-15 → 2009-01-17
    Submarine cable laying operations in progress until further notice by cableship rene descartes vicinity of…
  11. HYDROPAC 73/09 · Derelicts2009-01-08 → 2009-01-09
    Derelict vessel binh dinh river adrift in 05-01.8N 107-51.8E at 080945Z jan
  12. HYDROPAC 2572/08 · Exercises2008-12-28 → 2009-01-23
    Gunnery exercises 0100Z to 0900Z daily 02, 05 thru 09, 12 thru 16 and 19 thru 23 jan 09 within 15 miles of…
  13. HYDROPAC 2569/08 · Cable ops2008-12-27 → 2009-01-15
    Submarine cable laying operations 30 dec until further notice by cableship rene descartes along trackline…
  14. HYDROPAC 2401/08 · Piracy2008-12-05 → 2008-12-13
    Nga chart 93101 (3RD ed)
  15. HYDROPAC 2367/08 · Exercises2008-12-01 → 2008-12-06
    Gunnery exercises 052300Z to 060400Z dec within 31 miles of 25-20.0N 120-37.5E
  16. HYDROPAC 2366/08 · Exercises2008-12-01 → 2008-12-05
    Gunnery exercises 2300Z to 0900Z commencing daily until 04 dec within 31 miles of 25-20.0N 120-37.5E
  17. HYDROPAC 2365/08 · Exercises2008-12-01 → 2008-12-04
    Gunnery exercises 0001Z to 0200Z and 0400Z to 0600Z daily 02 and 04 dec within 29 miles of 22-34N 119-16E
  18. HYDROPAC 2364/08 · Exercises2008-12-01 → 2008-12-03
    Gunnery exercises 030200Z to 030400Z and 030600Z to 030800Z dec within 29 miles of 22-34N 119-16E
  19. HYDROPAC 2358/08 · Derelicts2008-12-01 → 2008-12-06
    Vessel aztulip disabled and adrift in 18-17.8N 112-01.4E at 302046Z nov
  20. HYDROPAC 2357/08 · Derelicts2008-12-01 → 2008-12-08
    Derelict barge adrift in 16-45.56N 118-13.65E

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