Towing

Geophysical operations in progress until 27 aug by M/V dong fang ming zhu towing 12000 meter long cable in…

Gulf of Mexico · NAVAREA IV 708/15

What this record establishes

Archived notice · 2015-08-28 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) · MEXICO IV 163/15 252110Z AUG 15 - MEXICO IV 164/15 252110Z AUG 15.. Issued 2015-08-26 20:30Z. 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 Mexico. 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 Mexico →

issued
2015-08-26 20:30Z
status
Archived notice
authority
MEXICO IV 163/15 252110Z AUG 15 - MEXICO IV 164/15 252110Z AUG 15.
NAVAREA
NAVAREA IV
issued by
MEXICO IV
sea
Gulf of Mexico
position
19.965, -93.817
vessel
M/V DONG FANG MING ZHU · 7 messages
source
NGA MSI broadcast-warn JSON (archive, frozen 2024-05) · first seen 2026-08-17 13:38Z

Original warning text

BAY OF CAMPECHE.
MEXICO.
1. GEOPHYSICAL OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS UNTIL 27 AUG
   BY M/V DONG FANG MING ZHU TOWING
   12000 METER LONG CABLE IN AREA BOUND BY
   20-45.00N 091-40.57W, 20-00.49N 091-40.15W,
   19-59.87N 092-50.42W, 18-15.45N 094-24.85W,
   19-39.99N 095-23.09W, 20-56.27N 094-56.00W.
   WIDE BERTH REQUESTED.
2. CANCEL NAVAREA IV 640/15(11,27,28).
3. CANCEL THIS MSG 28 AUG 15.

Reading this warning

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.
Cancellation reference
A line that cancels an earlier warning by its number, such as CANCEL HYDROLANT 1085/12.
NAVAREA
One of the 21 ocean areas of the World-Wide Navigational Warning Service, each with a coordinator that broadcasts long-range warnings.
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 · tows

10 within 180 nm since 2015 · 0 in the last 12 months · 0 listed in force now

15
16

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

0 tows listed in force · see all

Record snapshot 2026-10-02 01:27Z; source collection times vary.

Towing

Vessels under tow with long or unlit tow lines. All current tows →

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.