Surveys

Survey operations 27 may thru 01 sep by M/V situla in area bound by 46-08.40N 001-15.23W, 46-06.80N…

Bay of Biscay · HYDROLANT 1161/23

What this record establishes

Archived notice · 2023-09-02 00:01Z

This notice comes from the historical archive. Its archived status does not establish when or how the reported situation ended.

Source and dates: NGA MSI broadcast-warn JSON (archive, frozen 2024-05) · AVURNAV BREST 172/23 251453Z MAY 23.. Issued 2023-05-25 15:15Z. First collected 2026-08-17 13:38Z; last seen in collection 2026-08-17 15:46Z. Collection dates record ingestion, not a new incident or a fresh field observation.
Location covered: Bay of Biscay. The map shows an area described by the warning; the listed coordinate is its representative center. Check the original wording for limits and qualifications.

Current notices and reporting history in the Bay of Biscay →

issued: 2023-05-25 15:15Z
status: Archived notice
self-cancels: 2023-09-02 00:01Z
authority: AVURNAV BREST 172/23 251453Z MAY 23.
issued by: AVURNAV BREST
sea: Bay of Biscay
position: 45.875, -1.883
vessel: M/V SITULA
source: NGA MSI broadcast-warn JSON (archive, frozen 2024-05) · first seen 2026-08-17 13:38Z

Original warning text

BAY OF BISCAY.
FRANCE.
DNC 08.
1. SURVEY OPERATIONS 27 MAY THRU 01 SEP
   BY M/V SITULA IN AREA BOUND BY
   46-08.40N 001-15.23W, 46-06.80N 001-17.33W,
   46-07.53N 001-24.24W, 46-08.04N 001-29.20W,
   46-03.91N 001-32.49W, 45-59.54N 001-41.06W,
   45-59.09N 001-42.06W, 45-58.51N 001-43.30W,
   45-53.93N 001-54.14W, 45-56.36N 001-56.60W,
   45-51.77N 002-12.23W, 45-41.91N 002-06.94W,
   45-46.24N 001-46.83W, 45-51.72N 001-52.01W,
   45-56.75N 001-41.99W, 45-57.47N 001-40.69W,
   46-01.35N 001-34.61W, 46-05.90N 001-27.52W,
   46-05.38N 001-23.84W, 46-05.14N 001-17.50W,
   46-07.74N 001-14.85W, 46-08.77N 001-10.23W,
   46-09.56N 001-13.72W.
   WIDE BERTH REQUESTED.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 020001Z SEP 23.

Reading this warning

DNC (Digital Nautical Chart): A reference to one of the regions of NGA's Digital Nautical Chart, used to tell the reader which charts a warning affects.
Survey operations: A research or survey vessel is mapping the seabed or water column, often while towing equipment.
Area bound by: Introduces a list of positions that are the corners of an area — the polygon the warning applies to.
Position (degrees and minutes): How warnings write positions: degrees, a hyphen, then minutes, with N/S and E/W — 49-40.8N 003-43.8W.
Wide berth requested: Keep well clear — or, when a distance is given ("TWO MILE BERTH REQUESTED"), at least that far away.
CANCEL THIS MSG: The warning's own expiry: a line telling the reader when the message cancels itself.
Date-time group (DTG): A compact UTC timestamp — day, hour and minute followed by Z — such as 201500Z for the 20th at 15:00 UTC.

All warning terms →

Collected reports in this area · survey operations

72 within 180 nm since 2000 · 0 in the last 12 months · 0 listed in force now

Counts include repeat notices about the same situation. NGA archive coverage ends 2024-05; live collection began 2026-08-17. The period between them is incomplete. An empty year is not evidence that no hazards occurred.

Month of issue in the collected archive

All available years combined. Uneven collection and repeat bulletins affect these counts; this chart does not measure the seasonality or probability of incidents.

Nearby notices listed in force · within 120 nm

No other collected notice is currently listed in force within this radius. This does not establish safe conditions.

Worldwide in the collected sources

55 survey operations listed in force · see all

Record snapshot 2026-10-01 01:52Z; source collection times vary.

Surveys

Hydrographic and scientific survey vessels, often towing long arrays. All current survey operations →

Not for navigation. This is a re-rendering of an official navigational warning for awareness; mariners must use official NAVAREA broadcasts and their national MSI service.