| Colombian Navy | |
|---|---|
| Armada de la República de Colombia | |
 Coat of arms of the Colombian Navy | |
| Founded | July 24, 1823[1] |
| Country |  Colombia |
| Type | Navy |
| Role | Naval warfare Protection of the seas and rivers of Colombia |
| Size | 35,086 As of September 2013[update][2] ~13,000 Officers & sailors ~22,000Marine Infantry |
| Motto | Plus Ultra (Latin:further beyond) |
| March | "Viva Colombia, soy marinero" |
| Anniversaries | July 24 |
| Engagements | Battle of Lake Maracaibo Thousand Days War (Civil war) Colombia-Peru War World War II Korean War Colombian Armed Conflict Operation Atalanta[3] |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-in-Chief | PresidentGustavo Petro |
| Minister of Defense | Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez |
| Commander of the Military Forces | Admiral Francisco Hernando Cubides Granados |
| National Navy Commander | Admiral Juan Ricardo Rozo Obregón |
| Notable commanders | José Prudencio Padilla |
| Insignia | |
| Naval ensign |  |
| Naval jack |  |
| Flag |  |
| Standard |  |
TheColombian Navy, officially theColombian National Navy (Spanish:Armada Nacional de la República de Colombia), also known as the"Armada Nacional" or just the"Armada" in Spanish, is the naval branch of themilitary forces ofColombia. The Navy is responsible for security and defence in the Colombian zones of both the Atlantic (Caribbean) and Pacific oceans, the extensive network of rivers inside the country, and a few small land areas under its direct jurisdiction.
The Colombian Navy has a strength of 35,086 personnel as of September 2013[update] including approximately 22,000 in the Marine Infantry corps.[2]
The acronym "ARC", (Spanish:Armada de la República de Colombia) is used both as the officialship prefix for all the Colombian Navy ships, as well as a common short name for the Navy itself.
As stated in its institutional site, the mission of the Colombian Navy is:
“Contribute with the defense of the Nation through the effective use of flexible naval power in the maritime, river and land spaces under its responsibility, in order to fulfill the constitutional role and participate in the development of sea power and the protection of the interests of Colombians".[4]
In order to accomplish its mission, the Colombian navy establishes four strategic objectives:[5]
In addition to functions of security and defense the Navy is called to participate in missions aimed to ensure the integral use of the sea by the Nation. For this purpose it must fulfill both military and diplomatic activities along with implementation and enforcement of law and order.
Its formal motto has been historically, "Plus Ultra" (Latin:further beyond); but more recently, and as part of a public media campaign in the 2000s, the additional slogan "Protecting the blue of our flag" (Spanish:Protegemos el azul de la bandera) became known and has been adopted institutionally as well, perhaps as a result of being a more relatable catchphrase to the public than the formal Latin motto.
Its former slogan was "Sailing our pride" (Spanish:Navega nuestro orgullo).
The history of the Colombian Navy is interesting.
The Colombian Navy celebrates its birthday on July 24, the anniversary of theBattle of Lake Maracaibo fought on July 24, 1823, which was the last large naval battle of theSpanish American wars of independence.
During 1815, a Spanish army headed byPablo Morillo besieged Cartagena, as the first step of its "Pacifying Expedition" (Spanish:Expedición Pacificadora). The five-month siege was so harsh that earned the city its title of "Heroic" (Spanish:La Heróica). The small independent navy was impotent against the large fleet commanded by Morillo, but nevertheless managed some daring actions, in particular that of Luis Brión, who attempted to run the blockade with his corvetteDard with a load of guns and powder to the city before fleeing again to Haiti.In 1816,Simón Bolívar attempted his first campaign, the Cayos expedition, sailing from Haiti with seven schooners andcorvettes:Bolivar,Mariño,Piar,Constitución,Brión,Fénix, andConejo.[6]: 47–48 But this expedition fizzled out due to infighting amongst its generals shortly after the liberation ofMargarita Island.
GeneralFrancisco de Paula Santander created the Naval School on June 28, 1822.
In 1824 the first – and only – eight cadet officers graduated from naval school. On March 3, 1826, the Ministry of the Navy was created, with Lino de Clemente as minister. By 1826, both from bought and captured vessels, the Colombian Navy had become a respectable force, commanding a relatively large number of ships, including aship of the line, afrigate, six corvettes, fivebrigantines, 10 schooners, 13gunboats, and many minor vessels.[6]: 195
But the fledgling government was strapped financially, and in a decree of December 7, 1826, Bolívar decommissioned the Naval school, abolished the Ministry of the Navy, and slashed the budget for all navy and marine affairs by more than half.[n 1][6]: 195–196 The Navy would not recover from this blow for almost a hundred years. The incipient navy of 1825 saw its ships slowly sold, scrapped, or abandoned, and by the late 1830s there were no more than a handful of serviceable ships, mostly assigned to the Army.
Under PresidentTomás Cipriano de Mosquera, a sizeable naval force was acquired during 1866, with the steamers of warColombia,Cuaspud andBolívar being purchased in England, and theRayo acquired from America.Rayo was the largest, carrying four 9 inch guns, two smaller 30-pounders, and six torpedo launches,[7] and was incorporated into the Colombian fleet after accusations she was due to be delivered to Chile or Peru for thewar against Spain.[8] It was not to last, congress decreed the ships of the navy should be sold on June 6, 1867. TheRayo was subsequently blown onto a reef September 12, 1867[9] andCuaspud was wrecked on her delivery voyage just eleven days later.[10] TheColombia was sold in 1868, and theBolívar, last of Mosquera's men-of-war, sold in 1872.[11]
During the rest of the 19th century, there was no formal navy to speak of. Some vessels and naval units were assigned to the Army, and throughout the civil wars of the 1880s, some transport vessels were hurriedly bought, and similarly disposed of, but no formal navy appeared.[6][12]
On January 11, 1895, an important step was made in re-establishing the formal Colombian Navy when the three gunboats of the coastguard and the Magdalena were transferred from the Ministry of the Treasury to the Ministry of War.[13]
By 1907, when PresidentRafael Reyes Prieto created the Naval Academy, through decree 783 of July 6, 1907, only to be closed off yet again by his successor,Ramón González Valencia on December 28, 1909.
Theconflict with Peru in 1932 made the Colombian Navy reappear, this time to stay. New ships were acquired and the"Escuela de Grumetes" (Navy Sailors School) was founded in 1934 and the"Escuela de Cadetes" (Navy Officers School) was founded in 1935. Nowadays both schools continue their work of instructing the Colombian men and women of the sea.
DuringWorld War II, Colombia initially declared its neutrality, but nevertheless leaned towards theAllied cause; between 1939 and 1941 nothing much changed either in political relations nor in the sea, as the war was seen as a mostly European issue. The Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 changed things somewhat and prompted Colombia to break diplomatic relations with theAxis countries, but not to formally declare war. By 1942 the Colombian Navy found itself performing regular patrols in theCaribbean Sea-something that was only occasionally done in the years previous to the war-due to GermanU-boats marauding thePanama Canal access routes, mostly hunting for American and British vessels entering or leaving the canal.[14]
These German hunting runs, despite the Colombian Navy patrols, eventually resulted in the sinking of three Colombian ships during 1942–43, under circumstances that were never fully cleared up.[15] The three vessels were:Resolute, a 52-tonne[n 2][16] schooner sunk on June 23, 1942, byU-172;[17]Roamar (originally registered asUrious), a 110-tonne schooner sunk on July 27, 1942, byU-505[18] and finally,Rubby, a 39-tonne schooner sunk on November 1, 1943, by theGerman submarine U-516.[19]Rubby's sinking led to Colombia formally declaring a 'belligerent status' against Germany and the other Axis powers on November 23, 1943[20] and as a result the Colombian Navy significantly stepped up its presence in the Caribbean after this date and throughout the rest of the war.
On March 29, 1944, as thetankerMC Cabimas was en route from Cartagena toPanama City escorted by thedestroyer ARCCaldas, the latter under the command of Captain Federico Diago Díaz. Around 8:00 pm,Caldas detected theperiscope of a U-boat and proceeded to engage it with cannon fire anddepth charges. Later accounts identified this U-boat asU-154. While badly shaken and perhaps damaged,U-154 managed to escape, and was sunk four months later in another engagement withUSS Frost andUSS Inch. For his quick reaction in defence of the national seas, Captain Diago Díaz was later decorated by the Colombian government.[21][22][23]
Colombia was signatory to theDeclaration by United Nations in 1943, and one of the original 51 signatory countries to the creation of theUnited Nations (UN) at theSan Francisco Conference. As such, when theKorean War erupted, and theUN Security Council issued S/RES/83 : Complaint of aggression upon the Republic of Korea[24] and decided the formation and dispatch of the UN Forces in Korea, Colombia was the only sovereign country[n 3] in Latin America that offered support, by sending a frigate (afterwards, Colombia also provided an infantry battalion). This act, and the subsequent effort and sacrifice of the Colombian troops and sailors on the defense of South Korea have made the relationship between South Korea and Colombia much closer ever since. The Colombian forces deployed in Korea became known as theColombian Battalion.
Perhaps not surprisingly, there were multiple opinions in the US about accepting this help: On the one side, the State Department wanted to make sure the UN-sponsored operation had indeed the collaboration of multiple countries, the Treasury viewed it with disbelief and worried about the underlying extra cost that such 'help' would likely represent and might need to be paid by the US in the end, and the Defense Department wanted as much external help as possible, while also losing sleep about the logistics nightmare of integrating foreign units with little knowledge of its standards and even the language. Finally, the Colombian offer was accepted, and with Government Decree 3230 of October 23, 1950, Colombia's participation becomes formal and the Navy Ops Chief would receive orders to incorporate the Colombian frigate to the Order of Battle, under the7th Fleet's Task Force 95. Eventually, Colombia provided three frigates that would rotate their service throughout 1951–1955.[25]
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The frigate ARCAlmirante Padilla[n 4] took to sea on November 1, 1950[26] under command of CC Julio Cesar Reyes Canal, stopping atSan Diego, California, for fitting and then at Hawaii for operations training with the US Navy, finally reaching its destination at the Korean coast on May 14, 1951.Almirante Padilla performed operations with the escort groups GT95.5 and Blockade GT95.2, participated in the coastal bombardment atWonsan and patrol runs at Wonsan,Seongjin and the islands of Cho-Do and Seok-Do; it finished its first tour on January 19, 1952.
The frigate ARCCapitán Tono,[n 5] under command of CC Hernando Berón Victoria replacedAlmirante Padilla in January, and performed patrol and coast operations also around Wonsan and Seongjin, and submarine patrol around theSasebo naval base; it received the Republic of Korea Merit medal for its support to the naval operations in the area; it finished its first tour on November 12, 1952.
The frigate ARCAlmirante Brión,[n 6] under command of CC Carlos Prieto Silva formally relievedCapitán Tono in November 1952. However, it only arrived in the area by June 1953, as it had to be refitted in Japan due to some damages during its previous tour as USSBurlington. It performed patrols at the same areas as itssister ships and would finish its first tour on May 17, 1954.
All three frigates continued their service tours, until October 1955, and distinguished themselves in their duty along with other units from United States, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and Thailand, amongst others.[25][27][28][29]
On 27 July 2015, the Colombianoffshore patrol vessel ARC7 de Agosto set sail from the port city ofCartagena de Indias to take part in bothOperation Atalanta andOperation Ocean Shield. During the operations, the Colombian Navy monitored over 400 watercraft near the coast of Somalia.[30] The operations also saw an opportunity for the Colombian Navy patrol vessel to perform naval exercises with other navies taking part in the surveillance efforts; amongst them whereHyanë andErfurt of theGerman Navy,[31]Galicia,Victoria, andMeteoro of theSpanish Navy,[32][33] the destroyerJS Akizuki of theJapan Maritime Self-Defense Force,[34] andHDMS Absalon of theRoyal Danish Navy.[35] While stationed onVictoria,Seychelles, the crew aboard ARC7 de Agosto also instructed and shared information, with members of theSeychelles Coast Guard and Maritime Police, on structural and naval operations.[36][37]
The Navy is part of the executive branch of the Colombian Government, thePresident of Colombia being the commander-in-chief of all military forces, via the civilianMinister of Defense, and the General Commander of Military Forces (Spanish:Comandante General Fuerzas Militares), who is a senior officer appointed by the president from any of the 3 services (Army, Aerospace Force or Navy). The most senior officer organic to the Navy is the Commander of the Navy (Spanish:Comandante de la Armada Nacional).
The Colombian Navy operates with 8 specialized forces or commands across the territory:
Along with the 7 operational commands above, the Colombian Navy maintains 3 major training schools for its personnel:
The Navy also has 12 other post graduate schools aimed at sharpening and intensifying the needed capacities and personnel of the various naval services and the Marine Corps.
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Navy: Naval, Riverine and Primary Operating bases_Marine_Infantry_Sleeve_Insignia_Icon.svg){kind=icon}
Marine Infantry: Primary base and training schoolThe ARC maintains a number of major bases in both Caribbean and Pacific littorals, as well as multiple operational riverine bases scattered over the territory.
The principal naval bases are:
some of the more important operational bases are:
The Colombian Navy also plans to establish a naval base inAntarctica, to be called the "Almirante Padilla Summer Scientific Station".[41][42]
In 2013, the Colombian Navy had approximately 35,000 personnel, including roughly 22,000 Marine Infantry, 8,000 sailors and NCOs, 2,500 officers, 1,300 personnel in training and some 2,000 civilians (these usually deployed to specialty technical or medical posts).[2]
The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Navy personnel.[43][44][n 7]
| Rank group | General/flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Colombian National Navy[45] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Almirante | Vicealmirante | Contralmirante | Capitán de navío | Capitán de fragata | Capitán de corbeta | Teniente de navío | Teniente de fragata | Teniente de corbeta | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abbr. | - | ALM | - | VALM | CALM | CN | CF | CC | TN | TF | TK | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombian National Navy[45] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Suboficial jefe técnico de comando conjunto | Suboficial jefe técnico de comando | Suboficial jefe técnico | Suboficial jefe | Suboficial primero | Suboficial segundo | Suboficial tercero | Marinero primero | Marinero segundo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abbr. | SJTCC | SJTC | SJT | SJ | S1 | S2 | S3 | MA1 | MA2 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In keeping with its three major operational scenarios: blue-water operations, littoral/riverine operations and coast guard, the ARC maintains a mix of ships suited to each of those profiles. The scope of its operation has been historically oriented towards lightly armed coastal patrol, and as such, the majority of its vessels had been usually mid-sizecutters. Traditionally, the ARC has had strong ties to the American and German navies and shipbuilders and much of its equipment traces its roots to them.
Similar to other navies in the Latin-American region, the Colombian Navy acquired many vessels in the postwar years of the 1950s and 1960s, usually as war surplus from the US Navy, and then went through a somewhat dormant period during the 1960s to 1980s, during which few major acquisitions were performed.
In more recent years, the Colombian Navy has seen two major periods of upgrading and modernization of its equipment:
The first period, as a result of the rise of the drug trade in the late 1970s and 1980s as well as, at the time, increased political tensions in the Caribbean due to territorial disputes with some of its neighbors -with Nicaragua over theSan Andres archipelago and with Venezuela over theLos Monjes Archipelago- saw the need for a stronger Caribbean patrol force, and resulted in the acquisition of its biggest vessels to date, four missile corvettes (later upgraded to light frigates) in 1983 as well as some additional patrol craft.
The second period, as a consequence of the deepening in the internalColombian conflict, started in the late 1990s and extended over to 2005–2006, provided strengthening of its riverine and littoral capabilities, involving research and development for new indigenous designs in collaboration with the state-ownedCotecmar shipyards that resulted in new types of vessels such as the state-of-the-art Riverine Support Patrol Boats (Spanish:Patrullera de Apoyo Fluvial, "PAF"), also called "riverine mothership" (Spanish:Nodriza Fluvial) likeARC Juan Ricardo Oyola Vera (NF-613) which have drawn the eye of other navies with similar requirements.
Currently, the ARC is working on additional medium and long-term programs, including the development and acquisition of a number of coastal patrol vessels (Fassmer CPV-40)[n 8][47] in 2011–2012, two oceanic patrol vessels (Fassmer OPV-80) (2011–2013),[48] and the research and development of an indigenous corvette or frigate-class vessel ("Plataforma Estratégica de Superficie"), planned towards 2018–2020.[48]
7 October 2011,South Korea announced they would donate a recently retiredPohang-class corvette toColombia as part of a drive to boost arms exports to theSouth American region.An-Yang (PCC-755) wasdecommissioned by theRepublic of Korea Navy (RoKN) on 29 September, having been active for some 28 years since entering service in 1983.[49][50]
In September 2022, the Colombian Navy signed a contract for the design & construction of 5 new frigates as part of the PES programma with Cotecmar shipyard and Damen Shipyards based on theSIGMA10514 design for delivery from 2026 onwards[51]
The Navy Aviation Command operates approximately 17 fixed and rotary wing aircraft for naval surveillance and patrol, Search and Rescue (SAR), and logistical support of naval facilities and operations.
| Colombian Navy – Aircraft[52] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service | Notes |
| Fixed Wing | |||||
| CASA C-212 Aviocar |  Spain / Indonesia | Transport | C-212-100 | 1 | |
| CASA CN-235 | Spain / Indonesia | Maritime patrol | 3 | ||
| Cessna 208 |  United States | utility | 2 | ||
| Beechcraft Super King Air | Transport | King Air 350 | 1 | ||
| Rotary Wing | |||||
| Bell UH-1N Twin Huey | United States | Transport helicopter | 5 | ||
| Bell 412HP | Utility helicopter | Unknown | One lost on 6 January 2013.[53] | ||
| MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 |  Germany / Japan | Transport helicopter | 1 | ||
| MBB Bo 105 | Germany | ASW/utility Helicopter | Bo 105CB | 2 | |
| Eurocopter AS 555 Fennec |  France | Utility helicopter | AS 555 | 2 | |
The Colombian Navy – Armada Nacional – will test icy waters after announcing plans to establish a naval base on Antarctica.
A 24 January Ministry of Defence statement revealed plans to construct Colombia's first scientific base in Antarctica, to be named Almirante Padilla.
