Dangerous Ground (Spratly Islands)
Dangerous Ground is a large area in the southeast part of the South China Sea characterized by many low islands and cays, sunken reefs, and atolls awash, with reefs often rising abruptly from ocean depths greater than 1000m.
There are few precise definitions, but Dangerous Ground corresponds roughly to the seas around the eastern half of the Spratly Islands. It is an oblong area running southwest to northeast for about 340 nautical miles (nm) (630 km), 175 nm (324 km) at its widest, with an area of about 52,000 nm² (178,000 km²). It is west of Palawan island and northwest of the Palawan Passage. It lies approximately between 7.5–12°N, 113–117°E. The US NGA literatureetc. seems to consider its centre as 10°N 115°E / 10°N 115°ECoordinates: 10°N 115°E / 10°N 115°E.
The area is poorly charted, making it exceptionally dangerous to navigation – the major Singapore-to-Hong-Kong routes go well to the west and east of the area. The Admiralty Sailing Directions give the following warning regarding navigation in this area:
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