The Tanzania Naval Command () is the

naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, 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 operatio ...

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 unifie ...

of the

Tanzania People's Defence Force The Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) () 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, the Tanganyika Rifles. From its inception, ...

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

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

History

In the years immediately following

independence Independence is a condition of a 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 status of ...

, 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 known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

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 based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...

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. Between August 16th and August 20th in 2017, a flotilla from the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare military branch, branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It i ...

(PLAN) consisting of a

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

, a

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

, and a supply vessel visited Dar es Salaam on 16–20 August.' During the visit,

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Makanzo said that Tanzania currently had two marine infantry companies, which were trained by the PLAN, and that there were plans to form a third company that would be trained with help Chinese military. The rear admiral also said that Tanzanian marines were deployed in peacekeeping missions in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, and

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

. In November of 2023, Tanzania Marine

Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

concluded a Joint Combined Exchange Training with U.S. special operations forces in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

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 (''Kituo cha Jeshi la Wanamaji Kigamboni'', in Swahili) is a naval base located in Kigamboni ward of Kigamboni District in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The base also hosts the Kigamboni Navy Health Center that is available ...

, Dar es Salaam

References

External links

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