Seismic survey 21 sep thru 15 dec by M/V ramform explorer towing ten five mile long cables in area bound by…
South China Sea · HYDROPAC 2681/12
What this record establishes
Archived notice · 2012-12-16 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) · NAVAREA XI 634/12 202031Z SEP 12.. Issued 2012-09-20 21:49Z. 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
- South China Sea. 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 South China Sea →
- issued
- 2012-09-20 21:49Z
- status
- Archived notice
- authority
- NAVAREA XI 634/12 202031Z SEP 12.
- NAVAREA
- NAVAREA XI · named as the source of this relay
- sea
- South China Sea
- position
- 6.696, 115.269
- vessel
- M/V RAMFORM EXPLORER · 297 messages
- source
- NGA MSI broadcast-warn JSON (archive, frozen 2024-05) · first seen 2026-08-17 13:38Z
Original warning text
SOUTH CHINA SEA. 1. SEISMIC SURVEY 21 SEP THRU 15 DEC BY M/V RAMFORM EXPLORER TOWING TEN FIVE MILE LONG CABLES IN AREA BOUND BY 06-50N 115-00E, 06-58N 115-06E, 06-49N 115-29E, 06-18N 115-23E. WIDE BERTH REQUESTED. 2. CANCEL THIS MSG 16 DEC 12.
Reading this warning
- Seismic survey
- A survey that maps the rock beneath the seabed with sound pulses from air guns, recorded on streamers kilometres long.
- 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.
Collected reports in this area · cable & pipeline work
61 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.
- Seismic survey in progress until 15 aug by M/V cgg amadeus towing seven 7000 meter long cables in area bound…2018-07-31
- Seismic survey in progress until 01 aug by M/V cgg amadeus towing seven 7000 meter long cables in area bound…2018-05-23
- Cable operations 240200Z jan until further notice by cableship rene descartes in vicinity of trackline…2017-01-24
- Seismic survey in progress until further notice by M/V ramform sovereign towing 12 5.1 mile long cables in…2017-01-04
- Cable laying operations in progress until further notice by cableship rene descartes in vicinity of…2016-12-26
- Cable laying operations in progress until further notice by cableship rene descartes in vicinity of…2016-12-13
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
24 cable & pipeline work listed in force · see all
Record snapshot 2026-10-02 00:45Z; source collection times vary.
Cable ops
Cable laying, pipeline and seismic operations. All current cable & pipeline work →
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.