The National Navy of Gabon (french: Marine Nationale du Gabon) is the naval branch of the Armed Forces of Gabon. It operates a few

fast attack craft A fast attack craft (FAC) is a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable warship armed with anti-ship missiles, gun or torpedoes. FACs are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the seakeeping and all-round defensive ...

and patrol vessels to maintain security along its -long coastline.

Overview

Created on 16 December 1960, the Gabonese Navy is tasked with controlling the coastal waters of

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

(-long coast). In 1983, the Navy became independent from the

Gabon Army The Armed Forces of Gabon (french: Forces armées gabonaises) or the Gabonese Defense and Security Forces (french: forces de défense et de sécurité gabonaises) is the national professional military of the Republic of Gabon, divided into the Army ...

. Its headquarters is in

Libreville Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon. Occupying in the northwestern province of Estuaire, Libreville is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea. As of the 2013 census, its population was 703,904. The area has been inh ...

and its two naval bases are in

Port-Gentil Port-Gentil () or Mandji is the second-largest city of Gabon, and it is a leading seaport. It is the center of Gabon's petroleum and timber industries. The city is located on a delta island in the Ogooue delta with no bridges to the mainland. Nea ...

and Mayunba. Gabon has a coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. The principal port of the nation is in Libreville and Gabon claims a territorial sea limit and a exclusive economic zone (EEZ). However, jurisdiction over the EEZ is in flux as the limits have not been defined, overlapping with

Annobón Annobón ( es, Provincia de Annobón; pt, Ano-Bom), and formerly as ''Anno Bom'' and ''Annabona'', is a province (smallest province in both area and population) of Equatorial Guinea consisting of the island of Annobón, formerly also Pigalu a ...

which belongs to Equatorial Guinea and

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...

. A Marines unit, the (COFUSMA), was created in 1984.

List of ships of the Gabon Navy

The Gabon Navy primarily utilises

and patrol vessels to monitor its coastal waters. * , a * , a P400-class patrol vessel * , a fast attack craft that entered service in 1978. * , a

BATRAL The Bâtiment de Transport Léger (abbreviated BATRAL; "Light ferry ship") are small landing ships of the French Navy. Also known as ''Champlain'' class by the lead ship, they have been used for regional transport and patrol needs in French Overs ...

landing ship Also, two French-built Kership offshore patrol vessels are on order.

References

{{Navies in Africa