The Indian Ocean is located between Africa, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica and covers an area of over 73 million square km.   It has a coastline of 66,526 km which makes it slightly less than eight times the size of the United States.   It includes the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of Malacca, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Oman, Mozambique Channel, and other bodies of water.   Natural resources of the Indian Ocean include:  oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, and polymetallic nodules.   Endangered marine animals include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales.   The Indian Ocean has major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americans.  It particularly carries a heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oil fields of the Persian Gulf.   It is estimated that 40% of the world`s offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean.  In addition, fishing is very important to the bordering countries as a source of food as well as export.   Major ports of the Indian Ocean include:  Bombay (India), Calcutta (India), Madras (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Fremantle (Australia), Jakarta (Indonesia), Melbourne (Australia), and Richards Bay (South Africa).