Mozambique Navy

Though tasked to provide security within territorial waters, the Mozambique Navy effectively is a riverine force and does not have a blue water capability. In fact, the Mozambique Navy possesses only the ability to provide limited search-and-rescue services in localized areas, and would be unable to sustain coastal patrols or protect fisheries.

The Mozambique Navy is responsible for security within the country’s territorial waters. There is a Marine Training Center in Catembe located on the Bay of Maputo. There are bases also located at Beira, Inhambane, Maputo (Naval HQ), Metangula, Nacala, Pemba, and Tete. The Commander of the Navy is a Rear Admiral. The Mozambique Navy has an estimated 200 personnel and no known reserve units.

The Mozambique Navy has no comprehensible doctrine of its own, but participated in the 1996 SADC discussions on the shaping of regional maritime cooperation and operations doctrine. The South Africa Navy provides an extensive amount of training to the Mozambique Navy in areas such as hydrographics and equipment recapitalization. In July 2003, the India Navy provided maritime security and training for over 100 Mozambican sailors in concurrence with African Union Summit held in Maputo The U.S. Navy has provided VBSS, damage control, first aid, small boat operations, and small boat handling to more than 50 personnel from the Mozambique Navy from 2007 to 2009.

Insufficient funding and poor maintenance practices have rendered the Navy’s fleet inadequate, with a reported 12 patrol boats in the Navy’s inventory. Coastal protection capabilities improved with the delivery of an AIS system in 2008, provided by the U.S. government.

Since the end of the civil war, the main focus of the military budget has been the Army. As a result, the Navy’s vessels have remained in port slowly rotting away. Those vessels and parts not destroyed by rust have been stolen, borrowed as a replacement on another vessel, or sold. Considering the handful of ships the Navy maintains for coastal defense, it is assessed the vessels are sitting in port derelict or have been sold. Mozambique has had to sign defense cooperation agreements with South Africa and France, along with financial assistance by the World Wildlife Fund, to help secure Mozambique’s 2,470-kilometer (1,535-mile) coastline. Mozambique cannot project a sustained presence over its own coastline.

Mozambique Naval Infantry

The Mozambique Naval Infantry is incapable of carrying out its primary mission. Like the rest of the FADM, it is experiencing many financial, personnel, and political issues. The Naval Infantry is slowly making improvements, but is unlikely to become a selfsustaining, mission-capable force in the next 5 to 10 years.

The Naval Infantry’s mission is to provide security aboard naval vessels and conduct raids and search and seizure operations in accordance with the Navy’s mission to protect the security and integrity of Mozambique’s territorial waters.

The Mozambique Naval Infantry is estimated to have approximately 150 to 250 personnel. The southern African country first sold bonds to international investors in 2014 to finance a new state-owned fishing company, Ematum, but was later found to have spent the bulk of the funds on naval vessels and other security equipment.