The Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) is a specified patrol zone in the
Gulf of Aden and
Guardafui Channel
The Guardafui Channel ( so, Marinka Gardafuul) is an oceanic strait off the tip of the Horn of Africa that lies between the Puntland region of Somalia and Socotra to the west of the Arabian Sea. It connects the Gulf of Aden to the north with the ...
. Its borders are unmarked, but are a narrow, rectangular corridor between
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐; ar, ุงูุตูู
ุงู, aแนฃ-แนขลซmฤl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
and
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ูฑููููู
ูู, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi ArabiaโYemen border, north and ...
, within the northern sector of the gulf. The MSPA was established 22 August 2008 by the
Combined Task Force 150
Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150) is a multinational coalition naval task force working under the 34-nation coalition of Combined Maritime Forces and is based in Bahrain established to monitor, board, inspect, and stop suspect shipping to p ...
, (CTF-150) a multinational, coalition naval task force in order to deter de-stabilizing activities, including
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
within this
maritime geographical
Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water.
Definitions
The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings hav ...
area. The establishment of the MSPA was directed by the Commander,
United States Naval Central Command.
See also
*
Piracy in Somalia
Piracy off the coast of Somalia occurs in the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel and Somali Sea, in Somali territorial waters and other surrounding areas and has a long and troubled history with different perspectives from different communities. ...
References
External links
Map of the AreaThe Cost of Doing Business on the Open Seaby Richard Pollak, ''The Nation'', April 22, 2009
Gulf of Aden
Piracy in Somalia
Military units and formations established in 2008
War on terror
Maritime boundaries
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