Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela

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Country
  
Venezuela

Type
  
Navy

Color
  
Navy blue

Allegiance
  
President of Venezuela

Founded
  
1811

Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsbb

Role
  
Defense of Venezuela's coastline and maritime and inland waters

Size
  
6 frigates, 4 corvettes, 2 submarines, 4 amphibious ships, 8 patrol boats, 3 auxiliary ships

Part of
  
Ministry of the Popular Participation for the Defense

Motto
  
Navegare necesse, vivere non necesse (Latin: "Sailing is necessary, but living is not".)

Branch
  
National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela

Engagement
  
Notable commanders
  
José Prudencio Padilla, Luis Brión

Similar
  
National Bolivarian Armed Fo, Venezuelan Army, Venezuelan National Guard, Venezuelan Air Force, Venezuelan National Militia

The Navy of Venezuela is officially called the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela (Spanish: Armada Bolivariana de Venezuela).

Contents

It serves the purpose of defending the naval sovereignty of the country, including inland and fluvial security, and it also serves to prevent illegal activities in the Venezuelan borders and collaborates with international organizations to safeguard international waters from criminal activities.

History

Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela Russian warships hold exercises with Venezuela39s navy World News

The Navy was born as a coastal defense force during the beginning of the Venezuelan War of Independence. In May 1810, Commander Lino de Clemente, a veteran officer of the Spanish Navy who joined the April 1810 coup against the colonial government, was appointed the first Minister of Defense of the republic and began the long building of the armed forces including the formation of the navy. In April 1811 the Nautical School, with Ensign Vicente Parrado as its first superindentent, was opened by order of the national government in La Guaira to train future naval officers, months before the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence, thus the Navy's origins start from this date, with its first vessels being those formerly used by the naval forces of the Captaincy General of Venezuela, and participated in its first actions in the campaigns in Guayana in 1811-12, the baptism of fire for the fledgling naval service. Col. Antonio Mendoza from the Venezuelan Army was its first commanding general.

Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela Bolivarian Armada of Venezuela

For long time their vessels, even if obsolete, were maintained properly by its sailors. In 1937 the Navy acquired from Italy two gunboats of the Azio class and rechristened them General Soublette and General Urdaneta; these ships where retained in service until 1951 (for other sources in 1948 or 1950) and scrapped later.

Joint exercises

Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela Podero naval de Venezuela Venezuelan naval power Armada

In September, 2008, the Russian Navy's nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy, accompanied by three other ships of Russia's Northern Fleet, sailed from its base in Severomorsk on a cruise to the Caribbean Sea for a joint exercise with the Venezuelan Navy. This action represented the first major Russian power projection in that region since the end of the Cold War. The fleet of ships, headed by the nuclear-powered Pyotr Velikiy, set off from its base at Severomorsk in the Arctic on Monday, September 22. Russian Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo told the AFP news agency, "It's the nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser Peter the Great, the anti-submarine warship Admiral Chebanenko and other accompanying ships". The other ships included a tug boat and supply ships.

Organization of the Navy

As of 2016, Admiral Orlando Miguel Maneiro Gaspar is the Commanding General of the National Navy.

Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela FicheiroFlag of the Venezuelan Navypng Wikipdia a enciclopdia

The Naval Operations Command is commanded by the Chief of Naval Operations, currently Vice Admiral Antonio Díaz Clemente. This command is aimed towards the defense of the territorial maritime and inland waters and the coastline of the nation, and by extension into its ground and air territories.

Venezuelan Naval Aviation Command

Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela Bolivarian Armada of Venezuela

The command serves as the air arm of the Venezuelan Navy, with responsibity for air operations and transport for the entire Navy.

Coast Guard Command

Headquartered in La Guaira, Vargas, it is responsible for the surveillance of Venezuelas jurisdictional waters.

Fleet Forces and Coast Guard ship organization

The following was the roster of active duty vessels and ships of the Venezuelan Navy as of October 2001.

Light frigates

  • Six Lupo/Mariscal Sucre-class missile frigates class
  • F-21 Mariscal Sucre, into service 1980
  • F-22 Almirante Brion, into service 1981
  • F-23 General Urdaneta, into service 1981
  • F-24 General Soublette, into service 1981
  • F-25 General Salom, into service 1982
  • F-26 Almirante García, into service 1982

    • Corvettes

  • Four Spanish-made offshore patrol vessels of the Guaiquerí class.
  • PC-21 Guaiquerí, in service
  • PC-22 Warao, to be repaired after grounding off Fortaleza, Brazil in August 2012
  • PC-23 Yekuana, in service
  • PC-24 Kariña, in service

    • Amphibious and service ships

  • Four Capana-class LST.
  • T-61 Capana, into service 1983, as of 2001.
  • T-64 Los Llanos, into service 1983, as of 2001.
  • Four Los Frailes-class LST
  • One Ciudad Bolívar-class supply ship.
  • T-81 Ciudad Bolívar, in service since 09-23-2001
  • One Bricbarc type/Simón Bolívar training sailboat.
  • BE-11 Simón Bolívar, in service since 08-6-1980
  • One Almirante Francisco de Miranda-class tugboat
  • RA-11 Almirante Francisco de Miranda, in service since 28-03-2007

    • Coast patrol

  • Four Spanish-made offshore patrol vessels of the BVL class (on order).
  • GC-21 Guaicamacuto, in service
  • GC-22 Yavire, in service
  • GC-23 Naiguata, in service
  • GC-24 Tamanaco, completed in Venezuela 2014

    • Coast guard ships

  • Four USCG Point-class patrol boats, as of 2006.
  • 16 Gavion-class patrol boats.
  • Damen Stan 2600 vessels, built in Venezuela, similar to the United States Coast Guard's Marine Protector class, as of 2008. One already in service, 1 completed, 5 more to be built

    • Airplanes

    Note: The Navy has others two or three light aircraft.

    References

    Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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