Territorial waters

Schematic map of maritime zones.

Territorial waters, or a territorial sea is a belt of coastal waters that go at most 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) from the edge of a coastal state. The territorial sea is land of the state. Ships are let to sail on it. Ownership also extends to the airspace over and seabed below.

The term "territorial waters" is also sometimes used to mean any area of water a state has jurisdiction. This includes internal waters, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and potentially the continental shelf.

Contiguous zone

The contiguous zone is a band of water that goes from the outer edge of the territorial sea to up to 24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi) from the baseline.



Territorial Waters Media