China announces new operating location of Haiyang-981.

The China Maritime Safety Administration announced today, July 24th, the operating location of the Haiyang-981 drilling rig in the Hainan Island area from July 23rd to September 30th.

China's Haiyang-981 oil rig.

The website of the China Maritime Safety Administration (msa.gov.cn) states that the Haiyang-981 will "operate for nearly two months at the 'Lingshui Project'."

"From July 23, 2014 to September 30, 2014, the Haiyang-981 drilling rig will operate in an area 68 nautical miles southeast of Lingshui, Hainan," the announcement stated.

The operating coordinates of the Hai Duong-981 drilling rig are 17°25′46″.9N/ 110°41′22″.3E, and its range is 2,000m.

In early May, China illegally deployed the Haiyang-981 deep-sea drilling rig in waters within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. In addition to the rig, China also deployed a large fleet of ships, including military vessels, around the drilling site. These ships brazenly rammed and collided with Vietnamese law enforcement vessels and fishing boats.

By the evening of July 15th, Xinhua News Agency, citing China's China Offshore Oil Service Limited (COSL), reported that the Haiyang-981 drilling rig had "completed operations" in the area near Tri Ton Island, part of Vietnam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands, and was expected to be moved to the Lingshui oil field on Hainan Island.

China announced plans to move an oil rig to Hainan amid forecasts of Typhoon Rammasun, a very powerful storm, heading towards the South China Sea.

According to Dan Tri