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Honduras Navy
Before the early 1970s, Honduras did not have an
independent
navy. The country had only one utility boat twelve meters
in
length, which allowed personnel from the army to patrol
coastal
waters intermittently. In 1972 the Navy of Honduras
(Marina de
Honduras) became a separate service with its own mission
and
general staff.
The navy had a personnel strength of 1,200, including
600
marines, in 1993. The navy had doubled in size since 1983
because
of changing military perspectives concerning the
importance of
naval forces in Central America and because of an increase
of
United States aid. The navy is headquartered at three
bases:
Amapala on Isla del Tigre in the Golfo de Fonseca on the
Pacific
coast, Puerto Cortés on the western Caribbean coast, and
Puerto
Castilla on the central Caribbean coast. In 1993 the fleet
consisted of five fast-attack craft, eight river- and
seven
coastal-patrol craft, nine landing craft, and six
auxiliary craft.
In addition, the navy controls the First Naval Infantry
Battalion,
based at Puerto Cortés.
Data as of December 1993
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