Royal Captain Shoal  Royal Captain Shoal (Chinese: Jiangzhang Ansha) is a shoal in the South China Sea and a part of Spratly Islands. It is located in the vicinity of Northeast Investigator Shoal and Half Moon Shoal, at the eastern edge of the area named "Dangerous Ground". The shoal is named after the East India company ship "Royal Captain" that ran aground in the vicinity of this shoal in 1773. The ship was subsequently wrecked and lost. Spread over an area of 8 square kilometres, Royal Captain Shoal is centered at 9°01’N 116°40’E near the Palawan passage. It is located 16 nautical miles southeast of Northeast Investigator Shoal, and north of Half Moon Shoal. It lies off the coast of Palawan, Philippines and consists of a few rocks that are above water at low tide that surrounded a lagoon. The rocks in the shoal dry at 1.2 metres. The lagoon has depths of up to 31 metres and contains a number of coral heads. Named features in this shoal include Observation Rock (at the northern tip of the shoal) that shows at half tide. The shoal can only be entered at high water.