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Uruguay Navy
As of 1990, naval strength stood at 4,500, which
included
both naval air personnel and marines. Personnel had been
reduced
from a high of 6,200 in 1983. The only naval base in
operation
was located at Montevideo, where facilities included a dry
dock
and a slipway. In addition to the naval staff, the navy's
commander was assisted by the chief of forces afloat and
the
chiefs of naval education and training, naval aviation,
customs,
and the marine police.
The navy was active in riverine and offshore patrol,
transport, and sea-and-air rescue. In the late 1980s,
naval
vessels seized foreign boats caught fishing illegally in
the
country's territorial waters. The navy also played a role
in
interdicting drug traffickers.
The fleet command was divided into one escort division
and
one patrol division. The escort division operated a newly
acquired French frigate, as well as one other frigate, one
destroyer escort, and one corvette, all formerly in
service with
the United States Navy (see
table 20, Appendix). The
patrol
division had three relatively modern French-built large
patrol
craft, one antiquated Italian-built large patrol craft,
two
United States-built large patrol craft (delivered in
February
1990), and two small patrol craft. The fleet also included
one
minesweeper, five amphibious landing craft, one training
vessel,
and a small number of support and utility craft. An
additional
two frigates of the same class (Rivière) as that purchased
in
1988 were contracted for in February 1990. The ships were
due for
extensive refitting, making their delivery date uncertain.
Uruguayan Naval Aviation had 400 personnel. Operations
were
divided into combat, communications, and training
elements. All
naval aircraft were based at the naval air base at Laguna
del
Sauce in Maldonado Department. The marine detachment
numbered 500
and was organized into a single battalion.
All naval schools were located at the Naval Training
Center
in the Montevideo port area. Naval officers underwent a
five-year
course at the Naval Academy, graduates of which were also
commissioned in the National Maritime Police and the
merchant
marine. The senior school for naval officers was the Naval
War
College. Enlisted personnel were trained at the School of
Naval
Specialization.
The navy commanded the 1,500-strong National Maritime
Police,
which performed coast guard duties, supervised the
nation's ports
and merchant marine, and acted as a harbor police. The
maritime
police operated three small patrol craft and a buoy
tender. Its
personnel were trained by the navy.
Data as of December 1990
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