Royal Navy of Oman

Royal Navy of Oman
البحرية السلطانية العمانية
Naval Ensign of Oman
Foundedorigin 807 CE. formal 1650 CE.[1]
1970 (official)[2]
Country Oman
TypeNavy
Size4,200 personnel
Garrison/HQMuratafat Al Matar Muscat
ColorsBlue and Yellow
Equipment5 corvettes
12 patrol vessels
3 amphibious warfare vessels
2 auxiliary ships
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 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 Seeb, near the Muscat International Airport. A modernization program is ongoing, with the objective of creating a first-rate fleet.[3] Similarly, the Royal Oman Police's fleet, which operates smaller range boats and patrol crafts, is being updated due to raising tensions in the region.

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, with a standing royal navy of Oman being formally established in 1650.[4]

  1. ^ Sulaiman Aljabri. p.182.
  2. ^ "About Royal Navy of Oman". Oman Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  3. ^ John Pike. "Royal Oman Navy (RON)". Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  4. ^ Sulaiman Aljabri, Khamis Salim (18 June 2012). "Omans Maritime Doctrine: a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Arab and Islamic Studies" (PDF). ore.exeter.ac.uk. Exeter: University of Exeter. p. 182. Retrieved 30 June 2019.