Water bodies other than officially asserted archipelagic waters towards the landward direction of the baseline from which the territorial waters is calculated are known as internal waters. Archipelagic states may also draw up the boundaries of internal waters or territorial water boundary consistent with the Convention on the Law of the Sea. All states have complete authority over their internal waters. Internal waters generally consist of bays, estuaries, ports as well as waters enclosed by straight baselines. In can be mentioned here that two features viz. the access to ports and the question of the exercise of control over foreign ships in the ports have resulted in disputes in case of coastal States.
