The maritime zones of India are legally defined marine spaces over which India exercises varying degrees of sovereignty, jurisdiction, and control. These zones are established in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982, which India ratified in 1995, and are domestically governed by the Maritime Zones Act, 1976. Given India’s strategic peninsular location, an extensive coastline of 7,516.6 km, and prominent island territories (Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep), its maritime zones encompass a vast expanse of the Indian Ocean, safeguarding economic, geopolitical, and security interests.
Legal Baselines and Internal Waters
Baseline
The baseline is the low-water line along the coast as officially recognized by the coastal state. For deeply indented coastlines or areas with a fringe of islands, a “straight baseline” system is applied. All maritime zones are measured seaward from this baseline.
Internal Waters
Internal waters include all waters on the landward side of the baseline, such as bays, gulfs, estuaries, rivers, and ports.
- Sovereignty: India exercises absolute, absolute territorial sovereignty over its internal waters, identical to its land territory.
- Foreign Vessels: Foreign vessels have no automatic right of innocent passage through internal waters unless explicitly permitted by the state.
Classification of Maritime Zones
In accordance with UNCLOS, the maritime space extending from India’s baseline is divided into four distinct zones, each defined by specific distances measured in nautical miles (1 NM ≈ 1.852 km).
| Maritime Zone | Spatial Limit (From Baseline) | Legal Status and Sovereign Rights |
| Territorial Sea | Up to 12 NM | Full sovereignty over the water column, seabed, subsoil, and airspace; subject to the right of innocent passage. |
| Contiguous Zone | Up to 24 NM | Limited enforcement jurisdiction to prevent and punish infractions of customs, fiscal, immigration, and sanitary laws. |
| Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) | Up to 200 NM | Sovereign rights for economic exploration, exploitation, conservation, and management of living and non-living natural resources. |
| Continental Shelf | Up to 200 NM (can extend up to 350 NM under specific geomorphological criteria) | Sovereign rights over non-living resources of the seabed and subsoil, plus sedentary living organisms. |
Detailed Geopolitical and Legal Frameworks
Territorial Sea
The Territorial Sea extends up to 12 NM from the baseline.
- Jurisdiction: India’s sovereignty extends to the airspace above, as well as the seabed and subsoil beneath this zone. Coastal state laws regarding security, environment, and customs apply fully here.
- Innocent Passage: Foreign commercial and naval vessels enjoy the right of “innocent passage” through the territorial sea. Passage is innocent as long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order, or security of India (e.g., no weapons testing, spying, or deliberate pollution). Submarines must navigate on the surface and show their flag.
Contiguous Zone
The Contiguous Zone extends from the outer limit of the territorial sea up to 24 NM from the baseline.
- Jurisdiction: It is a zone of limited enforcement where India can exercise the control necessary to prevent and punish the infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration, or sanitary laws committed within its territory or territorial sea. It does not confer sovereignty over the airspace or the water column.
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
The EEZ extends from the outer limit of the territorial sea up to a distance of 200 NM from the baseline. India possesses the 18th largest EEZ in the world, spanning over 2.02 million square kilometers.
- Resource Rights: India holds exclusive sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving, and managing natural resources, whether living (fisheries) or non-living (oil, natural gas, polymetallic nodules), as well as activities like energy production from water, currents, and winds.
- Jurisdiction: India exercises jurisdiction over the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations, and structures; marine scientific research; and the protection and preservation of the marine environment.
- Freedom of Navigation: All other states enjoy the freedoms of navigation and overflight, and the laying of submarine cables and pipelines within the EEZ, provided they respect India’s resource rights and environmental regulations.
Continental Shelf
The Continental Shelf comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond India’s territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 NM where the edge does not extend up to that distance.
- Extended Claims: Under Article 76 of UNCLOS, India has submitted claims to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its continental shelf rights up to 350 NM in areas like the Bay of Bengal, based on thick sediment distribution.
- Rights: These rights are strictly limited to the mineral and non-living resources of the seabed and subsoil, along with sedentary living species (e.g., crabs and sponges that are immobile or attached to the seabed). It does not affect the legal status of the superjacent waters or airspace.
Spatial Distribution of India’s EEZ
India’s EEZ is non-contiguous, split into three geographically distinct sectors based on its mainland and island geomorphology.
Western Coast and Arabian Sea
- Coverage: Includes the maritime space off the coasts of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala.
- Strategic Assets: Home to India’s premier offshore hydrocarbon fields, such as the Mumbai High, Vasai East, and Heera fields.
Eastern Coast and Bay of Bengal
- Coverage: Includes the maritime space off the coasts of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
- Strategic Assets: Encompasses deepwater gas reserves in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin and Cauvery Basin.
Island Territories
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Generates nearly 30% of India’s total EEZ due to its elongated, north-south configuration across the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. It provides India with a strategic maritime gateway to the Strait of Malacca.
- Lakshadweep Islands: Adds a significant expanse to India’s western EEZ in the Arabian Sea, ensuring control over vital international Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) crossing the Nine Degree Channel.
Key Geographical Facts and Trivia for Prelims
- Nautical Mile vs. Statute Mile: A nautical mile (1 NM ≈ 1,852 meters) is based on the circumference of the Earth and equals one minute of latitude. It is longer than a standard land statute mile (1 mile ≈ 1,609 meters).
- International Seabed Authority (ISA) Allocation: India was the first developing country to be recognized as a “Pioneer Investor” by the ISA in 1987. India has been allocated an area of 75,000 square kilometers in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) for the exploration of Polymetallic Nodules (rich in manganese, nickel, cobalt, and copper) located in the High Seas beyond national jurisdictions.
- Maritime Boundary Settlements: India has successfully settled its maritime boundaries with most neighbors, including Sri Lanka (Kachchatheevu issue resolved via 1974/1976 agreements), Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, and Bangladesh (via a 2014 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling). The maritime boundary with Pakistan at Sir Creek remains a point of dispute.
- Deep Ocean Mission: Launched by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, this mission directly leverages India’s rights in its EEZ and continental shelf to develop technologies for deep-sea mining, manned submersibles (MATSYA 6000), and ocean oceanographic studies.