Royal Navy of Oman

Royal Navy of Oman
البحرية السلطانية العمانية
Naval Ensign of Oman
Active	origin 807 CE. formal 1650 CE.
Country	Oman
Type	Navy
Size	4,200 personnel
Garrison/HQ	Muratafat Al Matar Muscat
Colors	Blue and Yellow
Insignia
Naval Ensign of Oman

RNOV Al-Shamikh, (nearest) a modern corvette and RNOV Al-Seeb, a fast attack craft moored in Goa harbour in 2016

The RNO's sail training ship Shebab Oman

The amphibious support vessel RNOV Nasr al Bahr (nearest) on an exercise with a UK warship (HMS Monmouth)

The Royal Navy of Oman (Arabic: البحرية السلطانية العمانية), abbreviated RNO, is the maritime component of the Royal Armed Forces of the Sultanate of Oman. Given its long coastline and strategic location along the Indian Ocean, as well as being close to the Strait of Hormuz, the Royal Navy is one of the priorities of the government of Oman. It has a fleet of gunboats, fast missile boats and support, training, cargo and hydro-graphical survey vessels, which can be deployed to defend the territorial waters and coastline of Oman as well as protect tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The Royal Navy's headquarters are in As Sib, several kilometres west of Muscat, the capital. A modernization program is ongoing, with the objective of creating a first rate fleet.

The origin of the Royal Navy of Oman is traceable to the reign of Imam Ghassan bin Abdullah (807–824 CE). He was the first ruler of Oman to possess a Navy, a standing royal navy of Oman was formally established in 1650.

History

The origin of the Royal Navy of Oman can be traced to the reign of Imam Ghassan bin Abdullah (807–824 CE). He was the first ruler of Oman to possess a Navy. He commissioned ships in order to fend off pirates operating along the western shores of the Indian Ocean who were conducting raids along the coast of the Arabian Peninsula.

The Omani Navy dominated the Western Indian Ocean for many years thereafter until the arrival of the Portuguese that changed the balance of sea power in the region. Beginning in 1508 with the invasion of Oman by the Portuguese the conflict came to end in 1515 with the loss Oman’s maritime trade routes.

Beginning in 1624 Oman started to recover its lost naval ports under Imam ‘s Nasir bin Murshid (1624–1649), and Sultan bin Saif (1649–1688) the objective of the Omani navy's role was force out the Portuguese from their bases in Oman that was achieved by 1650.

The Royal Oman Navy fell into another period of neglect until the reign of Ahmed bin Said. (1749–1783). He began to rebuild the Omani Navy and had commissioned a fleet of four ships, that were equipped with 40 guns, additionally, he had 25 coastal boats built. A stronger navy was rebuilt between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Its main purpose was to then protect Oman’s overseas territories.

During the reign of Sultan Said bin Sultan (1806–1856) the navy grew larger. The Sultan had sent several Royal Omani Navy ships on specific commercial and diplomatic visits, first to New York in 1840 the Al Sultanah transported Ahmed bin Al-Noman Al-Ka’abi who was the first Arab envoy sent to the United States.

From 1862 the Sultanate of Oman lapsed again into a period of steady decline due to internal political wrangling’s and along with it the Royal Oman Navy. In 1888 the British imposed a protectorate on Oman. In 1962 a rebellion against British protectionism started in the Dhofar region of southern Oman. Although small, the Omani navy undertook an important role in this conflict by providing gunfire support and bombarding British shore positions.

During the late 1960s, the Royal Oman Navy existed as the naval branch of the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF) instead of a separate standing navy. In 1971 the British Protectorate of Oman came to an end and following the discovery of oil fields leading to the sale of oil abroad that provided much-needed investment in modernizing the navy and growing the existing fleet.

In 1992, the Royal Oman Navy had a strength of 3,000 personnel. The main naval base, near As Sib, was the Said ibn Sultan Naval Base, located in Wudham Alwa (near As Sib). One of the largest engineering projects in Oman, it serves as a homeport for the fleet and includes training facilities as well as repair bays. The Sultan Qaboos Naval academy, located at the base, provided instruction for officers and enlisted personnel, as well as specific branch training. Originally, most of the officers were British, with non-commissioned officers being mostly Pakistani. However, by 1980, most of the officers were Omani, though British and Pakistani technicians remained.

The Royal Oman Navy does not have a marine corps or any naval infantry formations, though has multiple amphibious ships. A modernization program is ongoing in order to protect the coastline as well as the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. The British Royal Navy, in 2011, helped train corvette crews in the Flag Officer Sea Training.

Ships

Hull number	Name	Class	Builder	Type	Displacement	Laid down	Launched	Commission	Decommission	Notes
Surface combatants
Q40	Al Shamikh	Template:Sclass2-	BAE Systems	Corvette	2,660 tons		22 July 2009	October 2013		8 MM-40 anti-ship missiles, 12 VL Mica anti-aircraft missiles
Q41	Al Rahmani						23 July 2010	March 2014
Q42	Al Rasikh						27 June 2011	May 2014
Q31	Qahir Al Amwaj	Template:Sclass2-	Vosper Thornycroft	Corvette	1,185 tons		21 September 1994	3 September 1996		8 MM-40 anti-ship missiles, 1 × 8 Crotale anti-aircraft missiles
Q32	Al Mua'zzar						26 September 1995	26 November 1996
Patrol vessels
Z20	Al-Seeb	Template:Sclass2-	ST Marine	Patrol vessel	1,100 tons		29 January 2014	31 March 2015		1 × 76 mm Oto Melara cannon, 2 × 30 mm Oto Melara Marlin-WS
Z21	Al-Shinas						14 June 2014
Z22	Sadh						17 September 2014
Z23	Khassab							2 August 2016
B10	Dhofar	Template:Sclass2-	Vosper Thornycroft	Fast attack craft	390 tons			1982		6–8 MM-40 anti-ship missiles
B11	Al Sharquiyah							1983
B12	Al Bat'nah							1984
B14	Mussandam							1989
Z1	Al Bushra	Template:Sclass-	France	Patrol vessel	450 tons			1995
Z2	Al Mansoor							1995
Z3	Al Najah							1996
Q30	Al Mubrukah		Brooke Marine	Patrol ship	785 tons		7 April 1970	1971		Former royal yacht converted to training ship; serving as a patrol ship since 1997
Amphibious vessels
L3	Fulk al Salamah		Bremer Vulkan	Amphibious transport	10,864 tons			1987		270 troops. Multi-role amphibious transport and general logistics ship. Now assigned to Royal Yacht Squadron.
L2	Nasr al Bahr		Brooke Marine		2,500 tons full load	1982	1984	1985		LST with helicopter deck. Capacity for 7 tanks; 240 troops.
A2	Al Sultana		Netherlands					1975
Auxiliaries
S11	Al Mubshir	Template:Sclass-	Austal	High speed support vessel			20 October 2015	20 May 2016
S12	Al Naasir						April 2016	8 September 2016

Missiles

• 50 VT-1 Crotale NG SAMs
• 162 Exocet MM-40 (122 Block-1+ 40 Block-2)
• Exocet MM-38
• Harpoon Block-II
• Mica-SAM

Electronics

• MASS Ship protection system
• 3 x SMART-S MK-II Ship sensors
• 2 x MW-8 Air search radar
• 5 x Sting fire control radar
• 2 x DRBV-51C fire control radar
• 3 x RA-20S air search radar
• 4 x 9LV radar
• 3 x CEROS-200 radar

Future

Procurement

New Research Vessel

The Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) has contracted with the US Pentagon through a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program to provide a new research vessel based on the RV F.G. Walton Smith, a University of Miami vessel. DeJong & Lebet, Naval Architects, provided the US Navy with Contract Drawings and Engineering.

Thoma-Sea Shipbuilders of Lockport, Louisiana reportedly won a $7.3m contract to build a Catamaran Hull Hydrographic Survey Vessel for the government of Oman, according to a report. This vessel will be built by Thoma-Sea. Thoma-Sea’s partner in this proposal is Technology Associates Inc. (TAI) of New Orleans in Louisiana. TAI prepared the proposal for Thoma-Sea and will be in charge of performing the Design, Program Management and Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) functions for Thoma-Sea. The Sultanate of Oman will receive this 90-foot vessel, which is designed to conduct hydrographic and environmental surveys of harbors and bays, and will work in Oman’s territorial waters, according to the release.

Oman has also issued RFI for a new ‘hydrographic survey vessel’. US Naval Sea Systems Command is promoting ship design based on the Walton Smith Catamaran design.

In Oman, South Korean defence minister Song Young-moo met with his counterpart Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Harib Al Busaidi. They spoke highly about the South Korean destroyers, Oman signed a deal in 2018 for an unknown number of ships and other arms including tanks.

Former ships

• Four Brooke Marine patrol craft

See also

• Qahir Al Amwaj