China MSA issues warning of unidentified underwater objects off Fuzhou and Ningde ports
Oasis P&I has released the below circular number 2209 issuing guidance on the new notice of correction no. 32/22 issued by China MSA and the navigation warning released on 10 September 2022 by Fujian MSA, according to Standard Club's release.
On 10 Oct 2022, China MSA issued No. 41 Notice of Correction to Channel Charts of Chinese Coastal Ports, in which they requested ships to remark the warning statement “Unidentified underwater objects were found in northeastern waters of Heiyan Island, Sansha'ao, Lianjiang, Taiwan Strait, within a radius of one nautical mile from the center of the circle: 26°23’39”, 120°05’42E” on the 3 relevant nautical charts.
Before the issuance of the above Navigation Warning No. 32/22, 3 major grounding accidents occurred in this area between 2020 and 2022 at the following positions:
1. 26°23.7N, 120°5.7E
2. 26°23.8 N, 120°5.7E
3. 26°23.76 N, 120°5.58E
The draught of those ships at the time of grounding varied between 7 and 15 meters.
The identity of those underwater objects is currently unknown, and they are not shown on the present public nautical charts.
