The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an

arm In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between th ...

of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coast of Mozambique. A warm current, the Mozambique Current, flows in a southward direction in the channel, leading into the Agulhas Current off the east coast of

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

Extent

The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the limits of the Mozambique Channel as follows: ::''On the North.'' A line from the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the River Rovuma () to Ras Habu, the northernmost point of Ile Grande Comore, the northernmost of the Comore (Comoro) Islands, to Cap d'Ambre (Cape Amber), the northern extremity of Madagascar (). ::''On the East.'' The west coast of Madagascar. ::''On the South.'' A line from Cap Sainte-Marie, the southern extremity of Madagascar to Ponto do Ouro on the mainland (). ::''On the West.'' The coast of

Islands in the channel

Comoros

* Grande Comore * Mohéli * Anjouan

France

* Region of France: Mayotte (claimed by Comoros) * Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean, district of French Southern and Antarctic Lands: **

Glorioso Islands The Glorieuses or Glorioso Islands (french: Îles Glorieuses or officially also ) are a group of French islands and rocks totaling . They are controlled by France as part of the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean in the French Southern and A ...

(claimed by Madagascar and Comoros) **

Juan de Nova Island Juan de Nova Island (french: Île Juan de Nova, ), Malagasy: ''Nosy Kely'') is a French-controlled tropical island in the narrowest part of the Mozambique Channel, about one-third of the way between Madagascar and Mozambique. It is a low, flat ...

(claimed by Madagascar) ** Europa Island (claimed by Madagascar) ** Bassas da India (claimed by Madagascar)

Mozambique

Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago The Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago is a chain of 10 sparsely inhabited barrier islands and two coral reef complexes situated in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mozambique and near the coastal city of Angoche. The islands lie in two groups alon ...

History

World War II

''Graf Spee'' Incident

On 15 November 1939, under the command of Captain Patrick (Paddy) Dove, the British Coastal Tanker ''Africa Shell'' was plying through the Mozambique Channel en-passage from

Quelimane Quelimane () is a seaport in Mozambique. It is the administrative capital of the Zambezia Province and the province's largest city, and stands from the mouth of the Rio dos Bons Sinais (or "River of the Good Signs"). The river was named when Va ...

Lourenco Marques Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,08 ...

sailing in ballast. During the course of the morning, at a point south-southwest from the lighthouse at Cape Zavora, she was spotted by the German

Pocket Battleship The ''Deutschland'' class was a series of three ''Panzerschiffe'' (armored ships), a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the ''Reichsmarine'' officially in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. The ships of the cl ...

''Admiral Graf Spee'', under the command of Captain Hans Langsdorff, and which was embarked upon a

commerce raiding Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than en ...

sortie. ''Graf Spee'' ordered the ''Africa Shell'' to stop by the firing of a shot across her bow. Having stopped the ''Africa Shell,'' a cutter with a boarding party was despatched from the '' Graf Spee'' and subsequently boarded the tanker, the officer in charge addressing Captain Dove in perfect English with the sentence: ''"Good morning, captain. Sorry; fortunes of war."'' In time, the boarding party ordered the ship's company, save the ''Africa Shell's''

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

, into their

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

before stripping the ''Africa Shell'' of all

foodstuff Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ing ...

s including a small amount of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

. The crew were ordered to row for shore, however Captain Dove was taken prisoner on board the ''Graf Spee'' where he was to be held captive. Capt. Dove was incensed by the interception of his ship, and complained personally to Capt. Langsdorff, citing that the ''Africa Shell'' was within

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Territorial Waters and that the action was in clear violation of

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

. With the crew of the ''Africa Shell'' making their way to the shore, and with Capt. Dove transferred to the ''Graf Spee,'' the boarding party proceeded to set about the operation of sinking the tanker. Scuttling charges were placed within the ship, and their timers set, following which the party re-embarked in the

motor launch A Motor Launch (ML) is a small military vessel in Royal Navy service. It was designed for harbour defence and submarine chasing or for armed high-speed air-sea rescue. Some vessels for water police service are also known as motor launches. ...

and made their way back to the ''Graf Spee.'' With all personnel safely aboard the ''Graf Spee'', Langsdorff and his crew observed the detonation of the charges which blew two holes in the ''Africa Shell's'' stern. Following this ''Graf Spee'' opened fire using some of her secondary armament of SK C/28 guns, sinking the ''Africa Shell''.

Battle of Madagascar

The Mozambique Channel was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

clashpoint during the

Battle of Madagascar The Battle of Madagascar (5 May – 6 November 1942) was a British campaign to capture the Vichy French-controlled island Madagascar during World War II. The seizure of the island by the British was to deny Madagascar's ports to the Imperial ...

References

External links

Japanese Submarines at Madagascar and the Mozambique Channel
* {{Authority control Channels of the Indian Ocean Straits of Africa Borders of Mozambique Borders of Madagascar International straits Borders of the Comoros Borders of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands