The Namibian Navy is the maritime warfare branch of the

Namibian Defence Force The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) comprises the national military forces of Namibia. It was created when the country, then known as South West Africa, gained independence from South Africa in 1990. Chapter 15 of the Constitution of Namibia estab ...

History

Development of

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

's navy has been slow, and the force was only formally established on 11 September 1998 as a maritime wing and in 2004 as a fully fledged navy, fourteen years after independence. Extensive

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian aid has assisted in the development of the Namibian Navy. Initially a group of four learners were dispatched to the Naval Academy in Brazil who got complemented by ten officers from the

Namibian Army The Namibian Army is the ground warfare branch of the Namibian Defence Force. History Development of Namibia's army was fastest of the three arms of Service. The first units of the Army were deployed as early as 1990. The Army was formed when ...

who would be the core group were sent to Brazil in August 1995 after

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The ci ...

had been integrated into Namibia in 1994. This group led by

Phestus Sacharia Captain_(Naval) Phestus Nopoudjuu Sacharia (1956 - 2002) was a Namibian military officer who is served as the Commander of the Namibian Defence Force Maritime Wing the forerunner to the Namibian Navy. He was appointed the Commander of the Mariti ...

consisted of officers such as

Peter Vilho Peter Hafeni Vilho (born 2 February 1962) is a Namibian politician and retired rear admiral who is a member of the Parliament of Namibia, a former Minister of Defence, and a former commander of the Namibian Navy. He was appointed the command ...

Sinsy Nghipandua Rear Admiral Sinsy Ndeshi Bamba Nghipandua is a retired Namibian military officer whose last appointment served was as the Commander of the Namibian Navy. He was appointed the Commander of the Namibian Navy in 2017. Prior to that he served as Comm ...

Alweendo Amungulu Rear Admiral Alweendo Paulus Amungulu is a Namibian military officer who's serving as the Commander of the Namibian Navy. He was appointed the Commander of the Namibian Navy in September 2020. Prior to that he served as Commander of Naval Operat ...

and Petrus Tjandja, would be the future Headquarters staff and Ship captains. Later 15 seaman were sent to Brazil for their studies as well. They completed their studies in 1998 from the Admiral Wandenkolk Instruction Center in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. In 1996 the second group of six students all members of the public were also sent to Brazil for studies. The Maritime wing headquarters was established in 1998, while in 2000 the Navy base construction at

started.
Consisting of approximately 1200 personnel the Navy deploys a small number of lightly armed patrol vessels. The first maritime wing commander was

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Phestus Sacharia. The first ship to be commissioned into service was the donated patrol boat Oryx in 2002. Brazil and Namibia signed an agreement in 2004 for the delivery of a

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

and two smaller patrol craft. The newly built 200 ton patrol boat

NS Brendan Simbwaye NS ''Brendan Simbwaye'' (P11) is a patrol boat of the Namibian Navy. Constructed and launched in Brazil, it was commissioned into the Namibian Navy in 2009. Its design was based on the Brazilian Navy's s. The vessel is used for patrolling Namibi ...

, built at the Brazilian shipyard INACE, was commissioned on 19 January 2009.
Press release: Brazil exports warship to Namibia
'', Brazilian Navy, 8 January 2009.
An ongoing co-operation program allows Namibian sailors and naval officers to be trained by the

Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= " Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship '' Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibio ...

; by 2009, 466 seamen had been trained. Brazil also provided assistance in preparing a nautical chart of the approach to

and consulting in charting the outer limits of the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

. The Brazilian Navy has also trained the Namibian Marine Corps.

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."

Fleet

The fleet is operationally divided into Squadrons, the squadron are based on the different roles of the different boats and ships, the squadrons were activated on 24 May 2018. There are four squadrons namely: *Combat Squadron *Combat Support Squadron *Coastal Patrol Squadron *Harbour Patrol Squadron

Current

Other boats

In 2012/2013 the Namibian Navy ordered 19 new craft from Kobus Naval Design and Veercraft Marine of South Africa. * 5x 4-meter- Rowboats * 5x 6-meter- RHIBs * 2x 6-meter-Harbor Patrol Boats * 2x 8-meter-Boarding Boats * 2x 8-meter-Swamp Boats * 1x 11-meter-

Landing Craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

* 2x 14-meter-Interceptors

Decommissioned ships

*1 Imperial Marinheiro class corvette – 1025 standard tons (1954) ** NS Lt Gen Dimo Hamaambo – ex

Installations

Naval Base Capt PN Sacharia

Naval Calling Station Luderitz

Naval Training School

Old Naval Base

The 'Old Naval Base' in

functions as the current headquarters of the Namibian Marine Corps. The current Commandant of the Old Naval Base is

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Rachel Tuyoleni.

Naval Base Impalila

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 officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

s 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

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

Command structure

Navy Commander

The following officers have held the appointment of Navy Commander or its previous title Maritime Wing Commander since the commissioning of the Maritime Wing on 11 September 1998 * 1998–2002 Captain (N)

* 2002–2017 Rear Admiral

* 2017–2020 Rear Admiral

* 2020-incumbent Rear Admiral

Master at arms of the Navy

The Master at arms of the Navy is the senior most appointment a Warrant Officer Class one my hold at the Navy. Roles of the Master at Arms include ensuring that discipline, drills, dressing code, performance standards and morale of the non-commissioned officers are maintained. * 1998–2007 WO1 DJ Angolo * 2007 -unknown W01 Hamunyela * unknown-currently WO1 Kamati

Marines

The Namibian Marine Corps are a unit of the Navy. Its role is to provide

naval infantry Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

, amphibious, diving and small boat capability to the Navy. They are a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

strong. The marines are trained by Brazilian naval instructors at the Naval Training School near Walvis Bay. The marine commandant is

Appolos Haimbala.

Ranks and insignia

Naval ranks and insignia are based on the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

Non-Commissioned Officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

s 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 Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

. 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.

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...

Other ranks

The rank insignia of

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

s and enlisted personnel.

Proficiency badges

Gallery

File:Namibian Navy Members.jpg, Naval Officers, sailors and marines of the Namibian Navy File:Namibian Marines manning a boat.jpg, Marines of the Operational Boat Unit File:Namibian Navy Namacurra with a fisheries patrol vessel.jpg, Namibian Navy Namacurra with a fisheries patrol vessel File:Namibian Navy Type 037 Class boats.jpg, NS Daures & Brukkaros File:NS Brendan Simbwaye.jpg, NS Brendan Simbwaye File:Namibian Navy Marlim Class craft.png, Marlim Class HPB

History

Role

Fleet

Current

Other boats

Decommissioned ships

Installations

Naval Base Capt PN Sacharia

Naval Calling Station Luderitz

Naval Training School

Old Naval Base

Naval Base Impalila

Organisation

Command structure

Navy Commander

Master at arms of the Navy

Marines

Ranks and insignia

Commissioned officer ranks

Other ranks

Proficiency badges

Gallery

References

Further reading