Surveys

Survey operations in progress until 012359Z feb 18 by M/V ramform atlas towing 12 three mile long cables in…

Gulf of Guinea · HYDROLANT 3839/17

What this record establishes

Archived notice · 2018-01-15 16:09Z

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) · NAVAREA II 441/17 271631Z NOV 17.. Issued 2017-11-27 16:46Z. 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
Gulf of Guinea. The map shows an area described by the warning; the listed coordinate is its representative center. Check the original wording for limits and qualifications.

Related notices and cancellation links

Current notices and reporting history in the Gulf of Guinea →

issued
2017-11-27 16:46Z
status
Archived notice
self-cancels
2018-02-02 00:59Z
authority
NAVAREA II 441/17 271631Z NOV 17.
NAVAREA
NAVAREA II · named as the source of this relay
sea
Gulf of Guinea
position
3.833, 8.106
vessel
M/V RAMFORM ATLAS · 76 messages
source
NGA MSI broadcast-warn JSON (archive, frozen 2024-05) · first seen 2026-08-17 13:38Z

Original warning text

GULF OF GUINEA.
NIGERIA.
DNC 01.
1. SURVEY OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS UNTIL 012359Z FEB 18
   BY M/V RAMFORM ATLAS TOWING 12 THREE MILE LONG
   CABLES IN AREA BOUND BY
   04-04.0N 008-10.3E, 03-51.7N 008-18.3E,
   03-47.3N 008-18.2E, 03-39.6N 008-12.0E,
   03-36.0N 008-07.2E, 03-35.8N 008-03.2E,
   03-38.2N 008-00.1E, 03-49.6N 007-54.9E,
   03-56.7N 007-55.6E, 04-03.9N 008-06.2E.
   FOUR MILE BERTH REQUESTED.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 020059Z FEB 18.

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.
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.
Towed array / streamer
Equipment towed a long way behind a vessel — sonar, a hydrophone cable, a sampling sled — invisible at the surface.
Tow / towing
A vessel towing another vessel, a barge or a structure — slow, hard to manoeuvre, and with a long line between.
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.

All warning terms →

Collected reports in this area · survey operations

32 within 180 nm since 2003 · 1 in the last 12 months · 0 listed in force now

03
05
10
15
20
25
26

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

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

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

Worldwide in the collected sources

55 survey operations listed in force · see all

Record snapshot 2026-10-02 09:05Z; 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.