The off-the-spot study will help protect maritime territories and resolve disputes over lands like South Talpatty along the border with India, sources said.

The foreign ministry is to co-ordinate the study, set to start in the second week of December, and provide logistic support and recruit experts.

The decision to conduct such a cost-effective study, which should run for six months, was made at a recent inter-ministerial meeting, chaired by Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan.

The decision preceded the September 21 instruction of the parliamentary standing committee on defence ministry to the navy for ensuring Bangladesh's sovereignty over South Talpatty.

The meeting felt a maritime database should be in place before venturing into the costly hydrographic survey in the sea, sources said . A proposal for a hydrographic survey in the Bay of Bengal is lying with planning ministry for approval.

The off-site survey is to be placed before the cabinet for follow-up actions. "Basing on the study, we will be able to demarcate our maritime boundary and report it to the UN, if necessary," a source said.

As per the UN convention, any country can claim at least 350 nautical miles in the nearest sea as its maritime territory.

The UN Convention on the Laws of Sea (UNCLOS) has set a preliminary deadline to complete maritime survey by October next year.

Bangladesh did not conduct any comprehensive survey since its independence.