Crete Naval Base Ναύσταθμος Κρήτης
Souda Bay,Crete,Greece
TheNimitz-class aircraft carrier USSTheodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) arrives at Souda Bay, Greece.
Logo of the Hellenic Navy's Crete Naval Base
Site information
Owner	Greece
Controlled by	Hellenic Navy Allied Maritime Command (NATO)
Location
Crete NB Location of Crete Naval Base, Greece
Coordinates	35°29′46.5″N24°08′51.5″E / 35.496250°N 24.147639°E /35.496250; 24.147639 (Crete Naval Base)
Site history
Built	1951
Built by	Greek Government
In use	1951 – present
Garrison information
Current commander	Commodore John Sarigiannis
Garrison	2nd Branch - DDΜΝ -Hellenic Navy General Staff

Crete Naval Base (Greek:Ναύσταθμος Κρήτης,Nafstathmos Kritis) is a majornaval base of theHellenic Navy andNATO atSouda Bay inCrete,Greece.

Formally known in NATO asNaval Support Activity, Souda Bay (NSA-Souda Bay),^[1] and more commonly in Greece as theSouda Naval Base (Greek:Ναυτική Βάση Σούδας,Naftiki Vasi Soudas), it serves as the second largest (in numbers of warships harboured) naval base of theHellenic Navy and the largest and most prominent naval base forNATO in the easternMediterranean Sea.^[2][3][4][5] Additionally, it features the onlydeep water port inSouthern Europe and theMediterranean Sea that is suitable and capable of maintaining the largestaircraft carriers (class "supercarriers").^[6] The only other such options available for theUS Navy areNaval Air Station North Island inSan Diego, California andNorfolk Naval Station and thePuget Sound Naval Shipyard in the United States and thePort of Jebel Ali,Emirate of Dubai in thePersian Gulf.^[7]

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Souda is a naturally protectedharbor on the northwest coast of the island of Crete, founded for the first time during theOttoman period, in 1872.

DuringWorld War II and theBattle of Greece, the harbor was thetarget of an Italian raid against theAllied navy as part of theMediterranean Campaign.^[8]

After the war, the naval base was founded, around the same period with Greece's entry into the North Atlantic Alliance.

The Naval Base of Souda Bay occupies an area of 500 hectares (1,200 acres), including the old artillery barracks of the Hellenic Army's5th Infantry Division as well as later land acquisitions. The facilities include adry dock, workshops, a fuel depot and an ammunition depot. The Naval Station is commanded by a Commodore or Captain of the Hellenic Navy. TheForward Logistics Site Souda Bay (FLS Souda Bay) was under the operational control of NATO'sAllied Naval Forces Southern Europe (COMNAVSOUTH), until 2013. Since then, it is under the control of theAllied Maritime Command (MARCOM) which replaced NAVSOUTH. The Hellenic Navy radio communications station SXH has also been located atMournies, near Souda, since 1929.^[9] The Κ-14, a deep-water quay, is the only of its kind in the Mediterranean Sea that allows the aircraft carriers to dock.

Since 2007, the Souda Bay Naval Base is host of theNATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre (ΝMIOTC), which is located at the Northern Sector of the base (Marathi).^[10]

Since 2020, theUSS Hershel "Woody" Williams, aLewis B. Puller-classexpeditionary mobile base, of theUnited States Navy, is deployed to Crete Naval Base.^[11][12]

• 
  TheAmerican aircraft carrier USSHarry S. Truman (CVN-75) sails out of the Souda Bay harbor in Crete, Greece, following a four-day port visit to Greece's largest island.
• 
  Greek line handlers assist as Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USSForrest Sherman (DDG-98) arrives in Greece for the first port visit of her maiden deployment.
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  The Naval Support Activity Souda Bay's Security Department soldiers stand a security watch in front of theFrench aircraft carrier FSCharles DeGaulle (R 91) as it docks at the Marathi NATO pier facility in Souda Bay.
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  A Hellenic navy special operations forces instructor, right, conducts small arms training with U.S. Sailors aboard the Hellenic navy training shipAris (A-74) at theNATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre in Souda Bay, Crete
• 
  Sailors conduct mooring operations as the fast-attack submarine USSAlbany (SSN-753) arrives in Souda Bay for a routine port visit.
• 
  Greek Navy Warrant Officer Alexander Tsaltas demonstrates tactical sweep techniques for U.S. Marines with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit's maritime interception operations assault force aboard the training ship HNSAris in Souda Bay, Crete, Greece
• 
  A U.S. Navy and Hellenic Navy in training exercise at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Center in Souda Bay, Crete, May 12, 2012, during Phoenix Express 2012, a two-week exercise and cooperation among partners from Africa, Europe and United States.
• 
  A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft pilot taxis to the flight line in Souda Bay, Greece, Aug. 18, 2014, during a training event between Greece and the United States.
• 
  A Qatar Emiri Air Force Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fighter jet takes off as part of a Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn mission, at Souda Bay.
• 
  Nike-Hercules firing at NAMFI by 220 Squadron RNLAF, from Souda Bay, Greece
• 
  The Royal Navy duringWorld War II, harboured in Souda Bay.

• List of United States Navy installations
• Greece-United States relations

• "Crete Naval Station" (in Greek). Hellenic Navy. Archived fromthe original on 2008-04-12. Retrieved2008-04-26.
• "US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay (Official web site)". Retrieved2010-09-28.
• "US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay". Global Security web site. Retrieved2008-02-16.
• NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre
• U.S. Naval Support Activity Souda Bay Official's photostream

• Hellenic Navy bases
• NATO installations in Greece
• Souda Bay
• Greece–United States relations
• Military installations of the United States in Greece
• Buildings and structures in Chania (regional unit)
• Military installations established in 1951

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• Articles with Greek-language sources (el)
• Articles with short description
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• CS1 Greek-language sources (el)