GULF OF ADEN

Why in News?                                                                                                        

INS Visakhapatnam, mission deployed in Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy operations, swiftly responded to a distress call by Marshall Island flagged MV Genco Picardy following a drone attack at 2311 hrs on 17 Jan 24.

What is Gulf of Aden?

• Gulf of Aden is an extension of the Indian Ocean, tucked between the Arabian Peninsula and the African continent.
• The gulf is named after “Aden,” a port city on Yemen’s coast.
• It is bounded to the south by Somalia and the Socotra Islands (part of Yemen), to the north by Yemen, to the east by the Arabian Sea, and to the west by Djibouti.
• The gulf is connected to the Somali Sea to the south by the Guardafui Channel and to the Red Sea on the west by the Strait of Bab el Mandeb.
• It is approximately 900 km long and 500 km wide and covers roughly 410,000 square kilometers. It has an average depth of 500 meters and a maximum depth of 2,700 meters.
• The dominant relief feature of the gulf’s terrain is the Sheba Ridge, an extension of the Indian Ocean ridge system, which extends along the middle of the gulf.
• It is also a critical part of the Suez Canal shipping route, which connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
• Some of the major cities near the gulf include Aden, Mukalla, Ahnwar, Balhaf, Berbera, Bosaso, and Djibouti City.