The Egyptian Navy (Arabic: القوات البحرية المصرية, romanized: El-Quwwāt el-Bahareya el-Miṣriyya, lit. ‘Egyptian Navy Forces’), also known as the Egyptian Naval Force, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy in the Middle East as well as Africa, and is the twelfth largest (by the number of vessels) navy in the world. The navy protects more than 2,000 kilometers of coastline of the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, defense of approaches to the Suez Canal, and it also supports for army operations.