Namibian Navy

Namibian Navy
	Emblem of the Namibian Navy
Founded	10 October 2004
Country	Namibia
Allegiance	Constitution of Namibia
Type	Brown-water navy
Size	1200[1]
Part of	Namibian Defence Force
Garrison/HQ	Walvis Bay, Erongo Region, Namibia
Anniversaries	11 September 1998 (Maritime Wing)[2]; 10 October 2004 (Navy)
Commanders
Commander In Chief	President Hage Geingob
Minister of Defence	Peter Vilho
Navy Commander	Rear Admiral Alweendo Amungulu
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 11 September 1998 as a maritime wing and in 2004 as a fully fledged navy, fourteen years after independence. Extensive Brazilian aid has assisted in the development of the Namibian Navy. The first ten officers from the Namibian Army who would be the core group were sent to Brazil in August 1995 after Walvis Bay had been integrated into Namibia in 1994. This group led by Phestus Sacharia consisted of officers such as Peter Vilho, Sinsy Nghipandua, Alweendo Amungulu and Petrus Tjandja, would be the future Headquarters staff and Ship captains.[3] They completed their studies in 1998 from the Admiral Wandenkolk Instruction Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[4] In 1996 the second group of six students all members of the public were also sent to Brasil for studies. The Maritime wing headquarters was established in 1998, while in 2000 the Navy base construction at Walvis Bay started.[4]

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.[5] 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.[6]

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.[7] The Brazilian Navy has also trained the Namibian Marine Corps.[8]

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."[9]

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 the 24th May 2018. There are four squadrons namely:

Combat Squadron
Combat Support Squadron
Coastal Patrol Squadron
Harbour Patrol Squadron

Current

Name	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
NPV Oryx	Germany	Oryx Class	Patrol Boat	1975	2002	Transferred from Namibian Fisheries ministry to Navy
Combat Squadron
C12 Daures[10]	China	Type 037 corvette Class [11]	Corvette		2017	Ex PLAN ship Wanning hull 786
C13 Brukkaros[10]	China	Type 037 corvette[11]	Corvette		2017	Ex PLAN ship Ledong Hull 748
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	1980-1981	2002	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.[12]

5 Four meter Rowboats[12]
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[13]

Decommissioned ships

1 Imperial Marinheiro class corvette - 1025 standard tons (1954)[14]
- NS Lt Gen Dimo Hamaambo – ex Brazilian Navy

Installations

Naval Base PN Sacharia

Naval Calling Station Luderitz

Naval Base Impalila

Map of Namibia showing the Namibian Navy bases (Click on base icon for link to details)

Naval Base Capt PN Sacharia

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 Capt (N) P.N. Sacharia. Captain Phestus Sacharia (d. 2002) was the 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 . The base also houses the navy headquarters.

Naval Calling Station Luderitz

The Naval Calling Station Luderitz 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]

Naval Training School

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.

Naval Base Impalila

Naval Base Impalila is a riverine naval base located at Impalila Island Zambezi Region and is permanently manned by marines.[20][21] The base's commandant is Commander (Marine) Christian Keendjele.[22]

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 Alweendo Amungulu
	Commander Naval Operations	Rear Admiral(JG) Gotlieb Pandeni[23]
	Commander Naval Support	Rear Admiral(JG) Lazarus Shitaleni[24]
	Senior Staff Officer Naval Operations	Captain(N) Davison Mwoombola[25]
	Marine Corps Commandant	Captain(N) Appolos Haimbala
	Naval Training School Commandant	Captain(N) Lazarus Erastus
	PN Sacharia Naval Base Commandant	Captain(N) Armas Iigonda
	Old Naval Base Commandant	Commander Rachel Tuyoleni
	Naval Calling Station Commandant	Commander Natangwe Hekandjo[16]
	Naval Base Impalila Commandant	Commander Christian Keendjele
	Master at Arms of the Navy	Warrant Officer class 1 Kamati

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 September 11th 1998

1998-2002 Captain (N) Phestus Sacharia
2002-2017 Rear Admiral Peter Vilho
2017-2020 Rear Admiral Sinsy Nghipandua
2020-incumbent Rear Admiral Alweendo Amungulu

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, 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.[26]

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

Equivalent NATO code	OF-10		OF-9		OF-8		OF-7		OF-6		OF-5		OF-4		OF-3		OF-2		OF-1						OF(D) and student officer
Namibian Navy	No equivalent
Namibian Navy	No equivalent				Vice admiral		Rear admiral		Commodore		Captain		Commander		Lieutenant commander		Lieutenant		Lieutenant (junior grade)			Ensign			Midshipman

Non-commissioned officers and other appointments

Warrant Officer's can hold the following appointments.[27]

Sergeant Major of the Namibian Defence Force
Master-at-Arms of the Navy
Command-Master-at-Arms
Master-at-Arms

Equivalent NATO code	OR-9						OR-8		OR-7		OR-6						OR-5						OR-4				OR-3		OR-2						OR-1
Namibian Navy																													No insignia
Namibian Navy	Warrant Officer Class 1						Warrant Officer Class 2		Chief Petty Officer		Petty Officer												Leading Seaman				Able Seaman		Seaman