Crete Naval Base Ναύσταθμος Κρήτης | |
---|---|
Part of NATO (MARCOM) | |
Souda Bay, Crete, Greece | |
USS Truxtun (DDG 103) departs the Marathi NATO pier facility following a scheduled port visit to Souda Bay, Geece | |
Coordinates | 35°29′46.5″N 24°08′51.5″E / 35.49625°N 24.147639°ECoordinates: 35°29′46.5″N 24°08′51.5″E / 35.49625°N 24.147639°E |
Site information | |
Owner | Greece |
Controlled by | North Atlantic Treaty Organization / Hellenic Navy |
Site history | |
Built | 1951 |
In use | 1951–present |
Garrison information | |
Current commander | Commodore Dimosthenis Helmis |
Garrison | 2nd Branch - DDΜΝ - Hellenic Navy General Staff |
Crete Naval Base (Greek: Ναύσταθμος Κρήτης, Nafstathmos Kritis) is a major naval base of the Hellenic Navy and NATO at Souda Bay in Crete, Greece.
Also known as the Souda Bay Naval Base, it serves as the largest and most prominent naval base for the United States and NATO in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.[1][2][3][4] Additionally, it features the only deep water port in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea that is suitable and capable of maintaining the largest aircraft carriers, making it of vital importance for the broader security in the region, with the only other such options available for the US Navy being Norfolk in the United States and Dubai in the Persian Gulf.[5]
History[]
Souda is a naturally protected harbor on the northwest coast of the island of Crete, founded for the first time during the Ottoman period, in 1872.
During the World War II and the Battle of Greece, the harbor was the target of an Italian raid against the Allied navy as part of the Mediterranean Campaign.
After the war, the naval base was founded, around the same period with Greece's entry into the North Atlantic Alliance.
Facilities[]
The Naval Base of Souda Bay occupies an area of 500 hectares, including the old artillery barracks of Army's 5th Infantry Division and later land acquisitions. The facilities include a dry dock, workshops, a fuel depot and an ammunition depot. The Naval Station is commanded by a Commodore or Captain of the Hellenic Navy. The Forward Logistics Site Souda Bay (FLS Souda Bay) was under the operational control of NATO's Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe (COMNAVSOUTH), until 2013. Since then, it is under the control of the Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) which replaced NAVSOUTH. The Hellenic Navy radio communications station SXH is also located since 1929 at Mournies, near Souda.[6] The Κ-14, a deep-water quay, is the only of its kind in the Mediterranean Sea that allows the aircraft carriers to dock.
Since 2007, the Souda Bay naval base is host of the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre (ΝMIOTC), which is located at the Northern Sector of the base (Marathi).[7]
Gallery[]
See also[]
- List of United States Navy installations
- Greece-United States relations
References[]
- ↑ "Cementing a long-term deal with Greece: Souda Bay gives the U.S. a singulary valuable port in the Eastern Mediterranean". Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/5/greece-deal-will-give-us-valuable-port/. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ↑ "Souda Bay US Naval Base ‘best in the Med’". Daily Hellas. http://dailyhellas.com/2017/02/28/souda-bay-us-naval-base-best-in-the-med/. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ↑ "Souda Bay Base Anchors NATO Role In Eastern Med". realcleardefense.com. http://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2015/08/11/souda_bay_base_anchors_nato_role_in_eastern_med_108350.html. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ↑ "The Expanding Strategic Significance of Souda Bay". ahiworld.org. https://ahiworld.org/AHIFpolicyjournal/pdfs/Volume6Spring/03dinella.pdf. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ↑ "Speeches and Interviews by Ambassador Geoffrey R. Pyatt". US Embassy at Athens. https://athens.usembassy.gov/amb_remarks_exposec.html. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ↑ Kevin Nice (2003). Ferrell's Confidential Frequency List (13th Edition). PW Publishing Ltd. p. 535. ISBN 1-874110-35-2.
- ↑ "Nato Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre". Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090616000634/http://www.hellenicnavy.gr/nmiotc/index_en.html. Retrieved 12 September 2010. (English) (Greek)
External links[]
- "Crete Naval Station" (in Greek). Hellenic Navy. Archived from the original on 2008-04-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20080412025207/http://www.hellenicnavy.gr/shipyards_kritis.asp. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- "US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay (Official web site)". https://www.cnic.navy.mil/SoudaBay. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
- "US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay". Global Security web site. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/souda-bay.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
- NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre
- U.S. Naval Support Activity Souda Bay Official's photostream
The original article can be found at Crete Naval Base and the edit history here.