Salvadoran Navy
Fuerza Naval de El Salvador
Founded1912 (original)
12 October 1951
Country El Salvador
BranchNavy
TypeNaval warfare
Size2,000 personnel[1]
Part ofArmed Forces of El Salvador
Motto(s)"Patria, Lealtad y Valor" ("Homeland, Loyalty and Valor (Courage)")

The Navy of El Salvador (Spanish: Fuerza Naval de El Salvador) is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of El Salvador. The navy was founded on 12 October 1951.[2]

Built around craft and duties absorbed from the Salvadoran Coast Guard, the navy is primarily composed of patrol boats tasked with coastal patrol and fishery protection.[3] The current fleet is made up of three Camcraft-type patrol boats originally built in the United States for use as oilfield crew boats. New patrol boats have been ordered from Chile to replace or supplement the current, aging ships.[4]

Current fleet

Number/name Image Builder Class Type Displacement Year Status in NAVY Details
Patrol Ships
PM06
PM07
PM08		  United States Camcraft-type Patrol boat 100t 1975 In service (2019) Builder: Camcraft, Crown Point, USA.
PM10  United States Swiftships 65 ft class Patrol boat 36t 1984 In service (2019) Builder: Swiftships, Morgan City, USA.
PM11  United States Swiftships 77 ft class Patrol boat 48t 1985 In service (2019) Builder: Swiftships, Morgan City, USA.
PM12  United States USCG Point class cutter Patrol boat 69t 1967 In service (2019) Commissioned 2001. Builder: Martinac SB, Tacoma, USA.
PM13
PM15
Coastal Patrol Boats
 United States 37-foot Boston Whaler Patrol boat In service (2020)[5] 8 donated by US government.

Builder: Boston Whaler, USA.

PC01-09  United States Protector class Patrol boat 11t 1988: LP01-05 1989: LP06-09 In service (2019) 1998: one unit discarding.

In service (2019): 8 units. Builder: SeaArk Marine, Monticello, USA.

Landing crafts
BD02  United States USN LCM(8) craft Landing craft 121t 1987 In service (2019) Builder: SeaArk, Monticello, USA.
BD04
BD05
BD06		  United States USN LCM(8) craft Landing craft 121t 1950s In service (2019) Commissioned 1996, 1996, and 2010
Auxiliary Ships
BL01 General Manuel José Arce[6]  United States Cactus/Balsam-class Support vessel 1038t 1942 sunk Ex-USCGC Madrona. Built as a seagoing buoy tender for the U.S. Coast Guard in 1942. Decommissioned and sold to El Salvador in 2002.

Future fleet

Two (possibly three) new patrol boats have been ordered from Chile. They will be slightly larger than the current patrol boats with a displacement of 107 tons, measure 32.7 x 6.7 x 2.1 meters, and have a crew of 14. They will also be slightly slower with a top speed of 18 knots. Armament will be 1 x 20mm gun, and one 12.7mm machine gun.[4]

Reference on this ship characteristics https://www.armada.cl/unidades-navales/superficie/patrulleros-clase-protector/lsg-1603-alacalufe

References

  1. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (25 February 2021). The Military Balance 2021. London: Routledge. p. 413. ISBN 9781032012278.
  2. ^ "Fuerza Naval de El Salvador Celebra "LXVI" Aniversario" (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Country-Data.com".
  4. ^ a b "Hazegray.org".
  5. ^ "United States donates Boston Whaler boat to El Salvador's Navy". sv.usembassy.gov. 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  6. ^ "El Salvador". Military Technology World Defence Almanac. Bonn : Wehr & Wissen: 60. 2005. ISSN 0722-3226.


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