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 91/07 · Nav aids2007-01-15 → 2007-01-19
    Sse of pulau takong buoy 01-05.9N 103-43.4E unlit
  2. HYDROPAC 80/07 · Cable ops2007-01-14 → 2007-01-26
    Underwater operations 160001Z to 310001Z jan by cableship ile de re in area bound by 21-20.0N 120-03.1E,…
  3. HYDROPAC 52/07 · Cable ops2007-01-09 → 2007-01-26
    Seismic survey in progress until 30 apr by M/V odin explorer towing 8000 meter long cable in areas bound by:…
  4. HYDROPAC 36/07 · Cable ops2007-01-07 → 2007-01-26
    Submarine cable operations 12 thru 25 jan by cableship kdd ocean link in area bound by 21-21.9N 119-50.8E,…
  5. HYDROPAC 8/07 · Wrecks2007-01-02 → 2009-01-24
    19.5 meter shoal reported in 02-08S 108-44E
  6. HYDROPAC 2529/06 · Derelicts2006-12-25 → 2007-01-01
    Two derelict barges adrift vicinity 06-22N 106-10E
  7. HYDROPAC 2514/06 · Containers2006-12-22 → 2006-12-29
    Eight containers adrift in 05-31.2N 104-03.0E at 221140Z dec
  8. HYDROPAC 2503/06 · Containers2006-12-21 → 2006-12-25
    Eight containers adrift vicinity 05-31.2N 104-03.0E at 211140Z dec
  9. HYDROPAC 2093/06 · Cable ops2006-11-02 → 2006-11-14
    Seismic survey in progress until 18 nov by M/V veritas voyager and M/V china venture towing 6000 meter long…
  10. HYDROPAC 2092/06 · Cable ops2006-11-02 → 2006-11-27
    Seismic survey in progress until 26 nov by M/V veritas viking II, M/V renegade, M/V northern light and M/V…
  11. HYDROPAC 2076/06 · Cable ops2006-10-31 → 2006-12-01
    Seismic survey in progress until 30 nov by M/V geco searcher towing six 7400 meter long cables in area bound…
  12. HYDROPAC 2050/06 · Surveys2006-10-27 → 2007-04-27
    Survey operations in progress until further notice by M/V geco eagle towing ten 3.5 mile long cables in area…
  13. HYDROPAC 1935/06 · Cable ops2006-10-07 → 2006-10-29
    Seismic survey in progress until 15 nov by M/V cgg fohn towing eight 5000 meter long cables in area bound by…
  14. HYDROPAC 1907/06 · Cable ops2006-09-30 → 2006-10-25
    Seismic survey in progress 01 thru 24 oct by M/V veritas voyager towing five mile long cable in area bound…
  15. HYDROPAC 1891/06 · Cable ops2006-09-28 → 2006-10-15
    Underwater operations in progress until 14 oct by cableship teknik samudra vicinity: a. 07-08.35N 103-16.14E
  16. HYDROPAC 1888/06 · Cable ops2006-09-27 → 2006-10-27
    Pipeline operations in progress by cableship asean restorer until 26 oct along trackline between 01-28.3N…
  17. HYDROPAC 1850/06 · Other2006-09-21 → 2006-12-19
    Pipelaying operations in progress until 18 dec in vicinity of trackline joining 05-40.6N 104-55.8E, 05-40.0N…
  18. HYDROPAC 1738/06 · Cable ops2006-09-05 → 2006-10-11
    Seismic survey in progress until 10 oct by M/V geco emerald towing eight 3.5 mile long cables in area bound…
  19. HYDROPAC 1728/06 · Exercises2006-09-04 → 2006-09-07
    Gunnery exercises 060300Z to 060800Z sep, alternate 070300Z to 070800Z sep in area bound by 06-20.0N…
  20. HYDROPAC 1710/06 · Cable ops2006-09-01 → 2006-09-25
    Seismic survey in progress until 24 sep by M/V veritas voyager towing 1200 meter long cable in area bound by…

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