)
, mascot =
, battles =
Venezuelan War of Independence and the
Battle of Lake Maracaibo
, anniversaries = July 24, Birthday of
Simon Bolivar
Simon may refer to:
People
* Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon
* Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon
* Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genu ...
,
Navy Day
Several nations observe or have observed a Navy Day to recognize their navy.
By country
Argentina
The Argentine Navy day is celebrated on May 17, anniversary of the victory achieved in 1814 in the Battle of Montevideo.
Bahrain
The R ...
and
Battle of Lake Maracaibo Anniversary
, decorations =
, commander1 =
, commander1_label =
, commander2 =
Admiral Giuseppe Alessandrello Cimadevilla
, commander2_label = Commanding General, Venezuelan Navy
, commander3 =
Vice Admiral Carlos José Vieira Acevedo
, commander3_label = Inspector General, Venezuelan Navy
, commander4 =
, commander4_label =
, notable_commanders =
, identification_symbol =
, identification_symbol_label = Naval ensign
, identification_symbol_2 =
, identification_symbol_2_label = Naval jack
, identification_symbol_3 =
, identification_symbol_3_label = Flag
The Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela ( es, Armada Bolivariana de Venezuela), commonly known as the Venezuelan Navy, is the
naval branch of the
National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela
The National Bolivarian Armed Forces ( es, Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana - FANB) of Venezuela are controlled by the Commander-in-Chief (the President) and a civilian Minister of Defense. In addition to the army, navy, and air force the ...
.
The Venezuelan Navy serves the purpose of defending the naval
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
of
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, including inland and fluvial security, and it also serves to prevent illegal activities on Venezuela's borders and collaborates with international organizations to safeguard international waters from criminal activities.
History
The Venezuelan 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
The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...
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 superintendent, was opened by order of the national government in
La Guaira
La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port. It was founded in 1577 as an outlet for Caracas, to the southeast. The town and the port were badly damaged during ...
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. Colonel Antonio Mendoza from the Venezuelan Army was its first commanding general.
For a long time their vessels, even if obsolete, were maintained properly by its sailors. In 1937 the Navy acquired from Italy two
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-ste ...
s of the and rechristened them ''General Soublette'' and ''General Urdaneta''; these ships were retained in service until 1951
(for other sources in 1948
or 1950
) and scrapped later.
Joint exercises
In September 2008, the
Russian Navy's nuclear-powered
missile cruiser ''Pyotr Velikiy'', accompanied by three other ships of Russia's
Northern Fleet
Severnyy flot
, image = Great emblem of the Northern Fleet.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Northern Fleet's great emblem
, start_date = June 1, 1733; Sov ...
, sailed from its base in
Severomorsk
Severomorsk (russian: Северомо́рск), known as Vayenga () until April 18, 1951, is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Severomorsk is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. The town is located on the coast o ...
on a cruise to the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
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 22 September. 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.
Crisis in Venezuela
During the crisis in Venezuela, the Venezuelan Navy became engaged in the conflict when it began to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid into the country.
A ship departing from Puerto Rico attempted to ship aid into the Venezuelan port city of
Puerto Cabello.
Six vessels of the Venezuelan Navy, including the
Mariscal Sucre-class frigate
The ''Lupo'' class is a class of frigates built by ''Cantieri Navali Riuniti'' (CNR) for the Italian Navy. Designed as multipurpose warships with an emphasis on anti-surface warfare (ASuW), they have enjoyed some success in the export market, bein ...
''Almirante Brion'' and patrol boats, were deployed to prevent the entry of the aid shipment. The ship, carrying civilians, returned to Puerto Rico after the Venezuelan Navy threatened to "open fire" on the humanitarian ship.
Governor of Puerto Rico Ricardo Rossello
Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname.
People Given name
*Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...
, who ordered the return of the ship, stated that the act by the Venezuelan Navy was "unacceptable and shameful" and that Puerto Rico "notified our partners in the U.S. government about this serious incident".
On 30 March 2020, the
Venezuelan patrol boat Naiguatá sank after being
rammed by the polar
ice class
Ice class refers to a notation assigned by a classification society or a national authority to denote the additional level of strengthening as well as other arrangements that enable a ship to navigate through sea ice. Some ice classes also have ...
cruise liner , while in international waters.
According to ''RCGS Resolute''s owner, the Coast Guard ship had fired shots
and ordered the cruise ship to follow it to
Margarita Island
Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the States of Venezuela, Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on t ...
, a Venezuelan harbour. ''Naiguatá'' sank following the ramming, with ''RCGS Resolute'' informing the international Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) of the incident and offering assistance. After staying in the area for an hour, ''RCGS Resolute'' was informed through MRCC that assistance was not required as ''Naiguatá''s crew had been rescued by the Venezuelan Navy.
Organization of the Navy
As of 2016, Admiral Orlando Miguel Maneiro Gaspar is the Commanding General of the National Navy.
Naval Operations Command
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
The command serves as the air arm of the Venezuelan Navy, with responsibility for air operations and transport for the entire Navy.
Coast Guard Command
Headquartered in
La Guaira
La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port. It was founded in 1577 as an outlet for Caracas, to the southeast. The town and the port were badly damaged during ...
, Vargas, it is responsible for the surveillance of Venezuelas jurisdictional waters.
Current ships
Fleet forces and Coast Guard ship organization
Light frigates
* Two /''Mariscal Sucre''-class missile frigates class
** F-21 ''Mariscal Sucre'', in service 1980
** F-22 ''Almirante Brion'', in service 1981
[
]
Offshore patrol vessels
*Four Spanish-made offshore patrol vessels of the . One ship, PC-22 ''Warao'' is out of service. It was taken to Fortaleza, Brazil following a grounding incident in 2012, and subsequently to Rio de Janeiro.
** PC-21 ''Guaiquerí'', in service
* Four Spanish-made offshore patrol vessels of the . One ship, GC-23 , was sunk after it rammed a cruise ship in 2020.
** GC-21 ''Guaicamacuto'', in service
** GC-22 ''Yavire'', in service
** GC-24 ''Tamanaco'', in service
Amphibious and service ships
* Four ''Capana''-class LST.
** T-61 ''Capana'', into service 1983, .[
** T-64 ''Los Llanos'', into service 1983, .][
* 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.][Jane's Fighting Ships 2005-2006, p.925]
** 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 guard ships
* Four USCG Point-class patrol boats, .
* 16 Gavion-class patrol boats.
* Damen Stan 2606 vessels, built in Venezuela, similar to the United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
's , . One already in service, 1 completed, 5 more to be built
Naval aviation assets
Airplanes
Note: The Navy has others two or three light aircraft.
Helicopters
List of Commanders of the Navy
Naval ranks
Professional and enlisted
Officers
See also
*Venezuelan Marine Corps
The Venezuelan Bolivarian Marine Corps are known as the Bolivarian Marine Infantry or formally as the ''Marine Division "General Simon Bolivar"'' (''División de Infantería de Marina General Simón Bolívar'') and is part of the Bolivarian Navy o ...
References
External links
*
Sitio oficial del Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Defensa de Venezuela
*
Sitio oficial de la Armada Bolivariana de Venezuela
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolivarian Armada Of Venezuela