Namibian Navy

Namibian Navy
Official Emblem, NN
Active 10 October 2004 – present
(14 years)
Country  Namibia
Allegiance Constitution of Namibia
Type Brown-water navy
Size 1200[1]
Part of Namibian Defence Force
Garrison/HQ Walvis Bay, Namibia
Anniversaries 11 September 1998(Namibian Defence Force Maritime Wing),[2] 10 October 2004 (Namibian Navy)
Commanders
Commander In Chief President Hage Geingob
Minister of Defence Penda Ya Ndakolo
Navy Commander Rear Admiral Sinsy Nghipandua
Insignia
Naval Ensign

The Namibian Navy is the Maritime Warfare Branch of the Namibian Defence Force.

History

Namibian Navy sailors on parade in downtown Windhoek on 20 March 2015 during Namibia's Independence celebration

Development of Namibia's navy has been slow, and the force was only formally established in 2004, fourteen years after independence. Extensive Brazilian aid has assisted in the development of the Namibian Navy. The original core group of personnel was only sent to Brazil in 1995 after Walvis Bay was integrated into Namibia in 1994. This group consisted of command and staff officers. They completed their studies in 1998 from the Admiral Wandenkolk Instruction Center in Rio de Janeiro.[3] The Maritime wing headquarters was established in 1998, while in 2000 the Navy base construction at Walvis Bay started.[3] Consisting of approximately 1200 personnel the Navy deploys a small number of lightly armed patrol vessels. The first maritime wing commander was Captain Phestus Sacharia. The first ship to be commissioned into service was the donated patrol boat Oryx in 2002.[4] Brazil and Namibia signed an agreement in 2004 for the delivery of a patrol boat and two smaller patrol craft. The newly built 200 ton patrol boat NS Brendan Simbwaye, built at the Brazilian shipyard INACE, was commissioned on January 19, 2009.[5] An ongoing co-operation program allows Namibian sailors and naval officers to be trained by the Brazilian Navy; by 2009, 466 seamen had been trained. Brazil also provided assistance in preparing a nautical chart of the approach to Walvis Bay and consulting in charting the outer limits of the continental shelf.[6] The Brazilian Navy has also trained the Namibian Marine Corps.[7]

Role

The Ministry of Defence has outlined the Naval policy as follows:

"In peacetime, the Navy of the NDF have a role of augmenting civil offshore patrol forces, particularly providing the means and the expertise to execute enforcement action effectively. Specific tasks include assisting civil forces to combat illegal immigration, smuggling (arms, drugs etc.) and threats to the environment; conducting maritime surveillance, search and rescue; and assisting the Ministry of Fisheries with enforcing a fisheries protection regime. A longer term peacetime task is the protection of offshore oil, gas, diamonds and other installations. A navy aerial surveillance component is a necessary part of the defence system."[8]

Fleet

Current

Name Picture Origin Class Type Built Entered service (LNF) Notes
Combat Support Squadron
S11 Elephant  China Elephant class Logistics Support Vessel 2012 2012 Multipurpose offshore Patrol and logistics vessel built at Wuhan Shipyard.
Coastal Patrol Boat Squadron
P11 Brendan Simbwaye  Brazil Grajau Class Patrol Boat 2009 2010 Hull P11
P01 Oryx  Germany Oryx Class Patrol Boat 1975 2002 Transferred from Namibian Fisheries ministry to Navy
Combat Squadron
C12 Daures[9]  China Type 037 corvette Class [10] Corvette 2017 Ex PLAN
C13 Brukkaros[9]  China Type 037 corvette[10] Patrol Boat 2017 Ex PLAN
Harbor Patrol Squadron
HPB20 Terrace Bay  Brazil Marlim Class Patrol Craft 2009 2010 Hull HPB20
HPB21 Möwe Bay  Brazil Marlim Class Patrol Craft 2009 2010 Hull HPB21
HPB01 and HPB02  South Africa Namacurra class harbour patrol boat Donated by the South African Navy

Other boats

In 2012/2013 the Namibian Navy ordered 19 new craft from Kobus Naval Design and Veercraft Marine of South Africa.[11]

  • 5 Four meter Rowboats[11]
  • 5 Six meter RHIBs
  • 2 Six Meter Harbor Patrol Boats
  • 2 Eight Meter Boarding Boats
  • 2 Eight Meter Swamp Boats
  • 1 Eleven Meter Landing Craft
  • 2 Fourteen Meter Interceptors[12]

Decommissioned ships

Facilities

The naval base is situated at the port of Walvis Bay. The base was inaugurated in 2012 though its building was completed in 2004. It is officially known as the Naval Base Captain PN Sacharia. Captain Phestus Nopoundjuu Sacharia (d. 2002) was the then Maritime Wing's first commander and was instrumental in its establishment. The base has a 200 meter long jetty. The current base Commanding Officer is Captain Armas Iigonda who succeed Captain Richard Kopano.[14] The base also houses the navy headquarters.

The Naval Calling Station is based at Namibia's only other harbour town, Luderitz.[15] The commanding officer of the unit is Commander Natangwe Hekandjo,[16] he succeeded Coomander Simiranü Elia Ndiyaamena who had succeeded commander Armas Iigonda.[17]

The Training School is located at the Rooikop Military base.[15] It was founded in 2009.[18] The school's Commandant is Marine Captain(N) Lazarus Erastus. Currently the school only trains junior naval ratings, administratively its divided into two wings namely the Sailors Training Wing and Marine Training Wing.[19] Courses offered at the school are the Basic Seamanship for sailors, Marine Soldier Specialization and Marine Section Commander Courses for marines.[19]

Old Naval Base

The 'Old Naval Base' in Walvis Bay functions as the current headquarters of the Namibian Marine Corps. The current Commandant of the Old Naval Base is Commander Rachel Tuyoleni.

Impalila Naval Base

A naval base has been constructed on Impalila Island Zambezi Region and is permanently manned by marines.[20]

Organisation

The navy is a hierarchical organisation with the navy commander exercising overall command. The Navy Commander is always a 2 star flag officer who is then deputized by two 1 star flag officers heading the Naval Operations and the Naval Support directorates. The two directorates are made up of divisions headed by Chiefs of Staff(COS) who are usually Captain(N). Division of Naval Plans & Naval Operations falls under Naval Operations Directorate, while Naval Personnel & Naval ICT falls under Naval Support Directorate. The Navy is further augmented by the Namibian Marine Corps. The navy has 1200 personnel, most of whom have been trained in Brazil and South Africa.

Command structure

Sleeve insignia Appointment Rank and Name
Navy Commander Rear Admiral Sinsy Ndeshi Bamba Nghipandua
Commander Naval OperationsRear Admiral(JG) Alweendo P. Amungulu[21]
Commander Naval SupportRear Admiral(JG) Nehemia Shikongo[22]
Senior Staff Officer Naval PersonnelCaptain(N) Petrus N. Tjandja[23]
Senior Staff Officer Naval OperationsCaptain(N) Davison Mwoombola[24]
Senior Staff Officer Naval PlansCaptain(N) Festus Negumbo[24]
Senior Staff Officer Naval ICTCaptain(N) Richard Kopano
Senior Staff Officer Force PreparationCaptain(N) Naftal Shuumbwa
Marine Corps CommandantCaptain(N) Appolos Haimbala
Naval Training School CommandantCaptain(N) Lazarus Erastus
PN Sacharia Naval Base CommandantCaptain(N) Armas Iigonda
Old Naval Base CommandantCommander Rachel Tuyoleni
Naval Calling Station CommandantCommander Natangwe Hekandjo[16]
Master at Arms of the Navy

Marines

The Namibian Marine Corps are a unit of the Navy. Its role is to provide naval infantry, amphibious, diving and small boat capability to the Navy. They are a battalion strong. The marines are trained by Brazilian naval instructors at the Naval Training School near Walvis Bay.The marine commandant is Captain Appolos Haimbala.[25]

Ranks and insignia

Naval ranks and insignia are based on the Royal Navy. Non-Commissioned Officers only retain the ranks as their insignia consists of a system of chevrons. The same ranks are also used by the Namibian Marine Corps. The highest rank in peace time a commissioned officer can attain in the navy is Rear Admiral. There may however be an exception when a naval officer is appointed as Chief of the Defence Force for which the individual which ascend to the rank of Vice-Admiral.The highest rank an enlisted member can attain is Warrant Officer Class 1 but the highest appointment is Namibian Defence Force Sergeant Major.

Officer rank insignia

Commissioned officer rank structure of the Namibian Navy
Vice Admiral Rear Admiral Rear Admiral(Junior Grade) Captain
VAdm RAdm(JG) Capt(N)
Commander Lieutenant commander Lieutenant Lieutenant (junior grade) Ensign Midshipman
Cdr LCdr Lt(N) LT(JG) Ensign Midshipman

Non-commissioned officers and other appointments

Warrant Officer's can hold the following appointments.[26]

Warrant officers

  • Warrant Officer Class 1
  • Warrant Officer Class 2

Senior ratings

  • Chief Petty Officer
  • Petty Officer

Junior ratings

  • Leading Seaman
  • Able Seaman
  • Seaman

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  3. 1 2
  4. ↑ Namibia Defence Force: Namibia Navy marks its day.(n.d). Archived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 10, 2011, Namibian Ministry of Defence
  5. ↑ Press release: Brazil exports warship to Namibia, Brazilian Navy, January 8, 2009. (in Portuguese)
  6. ↑ Brazil-Namibia co-operation, Brazilian Navy (in Portuguese)
  7. ↑ "Marinha do Brasil forma Primeira Turma de Soldados Fuzileiros Navais da Namíbia". Mar.mil.br. Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  8. ↑ "Ministry of Defence". Mod.gov.na. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Nghipandua jetzt Chef - Ministerium - Allgemeine Zeitung". Az.com.na. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Two new navy vessels delivered for Namibia - Namib Times". Namibtimes.net. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  11. 1 2 Martin, Guy. "KND progressing with 19-vessel order for Namibian Navy - defenceWeb". defenceweb.co.za. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  12. ↑ "Namibia navy orders 17 new vessels". namibian.com.na. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  13. ↑ "Naval ship, Lt. Gen Dimo Hamaambo decommissioned". New Era. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  14. ↑ "Nampa". Mobi.nampa.org. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  15. 1 2 New Era Publication Corporation. "Namibian navy weathering the storm". New Era Newspaper Namibia.
  16. 1 2 Reporter, New Era Staff (15 February 2018). "Change of command at Naval calling station".
  17. ↑ New Era Publication Corporation. "Decorated naval officer praised for dedication". New Era Newspaper Namibia.
  18. ↑ Marketing, Intouch Interactive. "Prince dethroned in title fight - Sports - Namibian Sun". namibiansun.com. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  19. 1 2 "Naval Training School - GRN Portal". www.mod.gov.na.
  20. ↑
  21. ↑ "SAS SPIOENKOP visits Walvisbaai". Archived from the original on 2013-10-22.
  22. ↑ "Infantaria de Fuzileiros Navais da Namíbia inicia suas atividades". Alide.com.br. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  23. ↑
  24. 1 2 "ACTA DA 22ª REUNIÃO DO COMITÉ MARÍTIMO PERMANENTE (CMP) DO COMITÉ INTERESTATAL DE DEFESA E SEGURANÇA (CIEDS): SWAKOPMUND, NAMÍBIA, 22-26 DE FEVEREIRO DE 2016" (PDF). Navy.mil.zas. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  25. ↑ "Ministry of Defense". Mod.gov.na. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  26. ↑

Further reading

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