Surveys

Survey operations in progress until further notice by M/V ramform sovereign towing 12 9000 meter long cables…

South China Sea · HYDROPAC 2716/23

What this record establishes

Archived notice · 2023-12-06 00:23Z

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 291/23 231209Z AUG 23.. Issued 2023-08-23 13:57Z. 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.

Related notices and cancellation links

Current notices and reporting history in the South China Sea →

issued
2023-08-23 13:57Z
status
Archived notice
authority
NAVAREA XI 291/23 231209Z AUG 23.
NAVAREA
NAVAREA XI · named as the source of this relay
sea
South China Sea
position
5.030, 110.681
vessel
M/V RAMFORM SOVEREIGN · 63 messages
source
NGA MSI broadcast-warn JSON (archive, frozen 2024-05) · first seen 2026-08-17 13:38Z

Original warning text

SOUTH CHINA SEA.
DNC 11.
SURVEY OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
BY M/V RAMFORM SOVEREIGN TOWING 12 9000 METER LONG
CABLES IN AREA BOUND BY
05-43.30N 110-06.00E, 05-43.40N 111-02.80E,
04-46.10N 111-02.80E, 04-46.10N 111-40.20E,
04-28.00N 111-40.20E, 04-28.00N 110-06.10E.
WIDE BERTH REQUESTED.

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.
Until further notice
The operation or danger has no scheduled end; the warning stays in force until a later message cancels it.
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.

All warning terms →

Collected reports in this area · survey operations

12 within 180 nm since 2006 · 0 in the last 12 months · 0 listed in force now

06
10
15
20
23

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

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

Worldwide in the collected sources

54 survey operations listed in force · see all

Record snapshot 2026-09-29 07:45Z; 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.