The Tanzania Naval Command ( sw, Kamandi ya Jeshi la Majini) is the

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

military branch Military branch (also service branch or armed service) is according to common standard a subdivision of the national armed forces of a sovereign nation or state. Types of branches Unified armed forces The Canadian Armed Forces is the uni ...

of the

Tanzania People's Defence Force The Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) ( sw, Jeshi la Ulinzi la Wananchi wa Tanzania) is the military force of the United Republic of Tanzania. It was established in September 1964, following a mutiny by the former colonial military force ...

(TPDF). It was established in 1971 with assistance from China.

History

In the years immediately following

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the st ...

, Tanzania did not have a navy. Coastal patrols were performed by the Police Marine Unit, using four Type 368 craft lent by the West-German government. Cooperation ended abruptly following the recognition of

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

by the Tanzanian government in February 1965. Four Shanghai-class boats were given to the Police by the

Government of the People's Republic of China The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, m ...

to replace the West-German vessels. These were to later form the nucleus of the Tanzanian Naval Command. In 1968, the PRC reached an agreement to build a naval base for the TNC. Work on the facility began in January 1970, and was complete in December 1971.

Ships and weapons

As of 2016, the assets of the Tanzania Naval Command included: * Four Huchuan class torpedo boats * Two Ngunguri class vessels * Two Shanghai II class patrol craft * Two 27-foot Defender-type patrol boats * Two Yuch'in class landing craft. In 2015–6, Tanzania replaced the two landing craft with similar Chinese Type 068 vessels. The new 28-metre vessels, ''Mbono'' and ''Sehewa'', took part in an amphibious operation demonstration on 30 September 2016. They unloaded infantry and Type 63A amphibious light tanks as part of the exercise. The landing craft were delivered to the naval base in Dar es Salaam by January 2016.

Bases

Kigamboni Naval Base The Kigamboni Naval Base is a naval base in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. History The base was built with assistance from China. President Julius Nyerere Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian anti-colo ...

, Dar es Salaam

References

External links

* Military of Tanzania T Military units and formations established in 1971 {{Navy-stub