Libyan Navy

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title: "Libyan Navy" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["libyan-navy", "military-of-libya", "navies-by-country", "1962-establishments-in-libya", "military-units-and-formations-established-in-1962"] topic_path: "history/military" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Navy" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox military unit"]

Field	Value
unit_name	Libyan Navy
native_name	القوات البحرية الليبية
image	Seal of the Libyan Navy.svg
caption	Seal of the Libyan Navy
dates	November 1962 – present
country	Libya
allegiance	Government of National Unity (pro-GNU)
House of Representatives (pro-HoR)Formerly
Government of National Accord
branch	Libyan Armed Forces
type	Navy
size	15,000 personnel
garrison	Tripoli (Libyan Army)
Tobruk (Libyan National Army)
garrison_label	Headquarters
equipment	1 frigate
1 corvette
1 missile boat
2 minesweepers
2 landing crafts
battles	Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986)
2011 Libyan civil war
Second Battle of Zawiya
Factional violence in Libya (2011–2014)
Second Libyan Civil War
Battle of Sirte (2016)
2019-2020 Western Libya campaign
website
commander1	Mohamed al-Menfi
commander1_label	Commander-in Chief
commander2	Abdul Hakim Abu Hawliyeh (pro-GNU)(formerly pro-GNA)
Admiral Faraj al-Mahdawi (pro-HoR)
commander2_label	Chief of Naval Staff
commander4	Commander Rida Issa (pro-GNU) (formerly pro-GNA)
commander4_label	Notable commander
notable_commanders
identification_symbol	[[File:Flag of the Libyan Navy.svg
identification_symbol_label	Flag
identification_symbol_2	[[File:Naval ensign of Libya.svg
identification_symbol_2_label	Ensign
identification_symbol_4_label
::

The ** Libyan Navy** () is the naval warfare branch of the Libyan Armed Forces. Established in November 1962, Libyan Navy was headed by Admiral Mansour Bader, Chief of Staff of the Libyan Naval Force. Before the First Libyan Civil War, it was a fairly typical small navy with a few missile frigates, corvettes and patrol boats to defend the coastline, but with a very limited self-defence capability.

The navy has always been the smallest of Libya's military branches and has always been dependent on foreign sources for equipment, spare parts, and training. Most of the Gaddafi-era fleet was destroyed in 2011. Since the start of the Second Libyan Civil War, the Libyan Navy is aligned with the Government of National Accord (GNA), led by the Presidential Council in Tripoli, apart from coastal patrol vessels under the control of the Libyan National Army.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Libya_(orthographic_projection).svg"] ::

Its first warships were delivered in 1966. These were two s from the UK. Initially, the effective force was limited to smaller vessels, but this changed after the rise of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 1969. From this time, Libya started to buy armaments from Europe and the Soviet Union. The Customs and Harbour police were amalgamated with the Navy in 1970, extending the Navy's mission to include anti-smuggling and customs duties. The total personnel of the Libyan Navy is about 8,000.

During the 2011 Libyan civil war several elements of the Libyan Navy were destroyed by NATO forces, including eight warships in the night before 20 May and one on 17 August. Two were also captured by the rebels at Benghazi.

The navy began the process of purchasing new vessels in May 2012, mainly fast patrol boats for surveillance and border protection, including the MRTP-20 fast attack boat.

As of June 2012, the Libyan Navy has been headed by Commodore Hassan Ali Bushnak, Chief of Staff of the Libyan Naval Force. The British Royal Navy along with the Libyan Navy held joint exercises at Dartmouth Naval College in the UK in June 2012.

Libyan Navy ships under the command of Rida Issa, loyal to the internationally recognized Government of National Accord, took part in the operation to liberate the city of Sirte from ISIL. The Libyan Navy assisted ground forces and blocked off sea escape routes for the militants. On 20 June 2016, the European Union states announced that the naval mission in the Mediterranean Sea, Operation Sophia, was extended until 2017, and helped train the Libyan Navy and coast guard.

In 2021, the navy (except for Haftar's forces) will be under new leadership of the new Libyan President, Mohamed al-Menfi from the Government of National Unity.

Background

The Navy's primary mission is to defend the coast. A strengthening of the service was made in the 1970s; the Soviet Union sold six s, and though two of them were only averagely serviceable, they became the main threats to the United States Navy in the Mediterranean Sea. In the meantime, Libya bought four Russian s, that even in the export versions were well-armed and powerful ships. Another four s were acquired from Italy. These had Otomat long range missiles (in the Mk.I version without datalink for in-flight course correction) and modern artillery. They were less well-armed as anti-aircraft ships than the Nanuchkas but, with a displacement almost twice that of a typical fast attack craft, had anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities, with sonar and light torpedoes.

Actions

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Burning_Libyan_Corvette.jpg" caption="Burning Libyan corvette, 1986"] ::

Libya's Navy first saw military action during an encounter with the United States Sixth Fleet in March 1986 in the Action in the Gulf of Sidra, when one missile boat and a corvette were destroyed, and other ships were damaged by A-6 Intruder aircraft. Unusually, some of these attacks were performed successfully, with cluster bombs like the Mk.20 Rockeye which were designed as an anti-tank weapon.

In July 1984, the roll-on/roll-off ferry Ghat is believed to have mined the Red Sea a few kilometres south of the Suez Canal. Approximately nineteen ships were damaged, including a Soviet container ship which was the first to be hit on 9 July. The Islamic Jihad Organisation took responsibility for the incident. However, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak did not believe the claims and blamed Muammar Gaddafi and Libya. Other sources agreed after it was learnt that the ship took fifteen days to complete a voyage that normally would take eight days, the head of the Libyan minelaying division was on board, and that, when inspected by French officials in Marseille the aft door was damaged. Due to concerns about the safety and potential lost revenue from the canal, Egypt asked for assistance in sweeping the mines in a complex operation that involved minehunters from the French, British, Italian, Dutch, and US navies. The British located a Soviet-made mine, which was most likely sold to Libya after 1981 and was laid to cause problems for Egypt. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Usaf-ec-130j-transmitting-on-6877-0-khz-libya-20-march-2011.ogg" caption="Broadcast by US forces during the [[2011 military intervention in Libya]] warning Libyan vessels of the naval blockade"] ::

Second Battle of Zawiya. Ships (1985)

Active ships

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a number of vessels from the Gaddafi era remain intact under GNU control in Tripoli, although serviceability is questionable.

::data[format=table]

Class	Type	Ships	Origin	Quantity	Notes	Frigate	Patrol boat	Landing craft	Auxiliary ship
Koni class	Frigate	Al Hani (212)	Soviet Union	1	Flagship of the Libyan Navy. Stationed in Malta for refit from 2013 to 2025.
Beir Grassa class	Missile boat	Shafak (534)	France	1	Ex-Beir Alkarim. Possibly unserviceable.
Type PV30-LS	Patrol boat	Shafak (534)	Croatia	2+
PS 700 class	Landing craft	Ibn Harissa (134)	France	1	Capacity: 11 tanks or 240 troops. Refitted in Croatia in 2008.
Floating Dock	Floating dry dock			1
title=Arms transfer database	url=https://armstransfers.sipri.org/ArmsTransfer/TransferRegister	website=SIPRI	publisher=Stockholm International Peace Research Institute	access-date=11 November 2024}}	Salvage tug	Al Munjed	Yugoslavia	1	Serviceability doubtful.
::

Former ships

Submarines

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Foxtrot_Class_submarine.JPEG" caption="A Foxtrot-class submarine"] ::

Six obsolete Foxtrot-class submarines were transferred from the Soviet Union between 1976 and 1982. They were crewed by Soviet-trained Libyans while maintenance was done by Soviet personnel. No routine patrols were conducted since 1984. Four were decommissioned (311−314) prior to the Libyan Civil War. The Al Hunain (316) was reported to be at Tripoli in dry dock in 2003, while the Al Khyber (315) was reported as sea-going before 2011. In 2016, both Al Khyber and Al Hunain were non-operational.

Frigate

(211) delivered by the United Kingdom in 1973. In 2015, it was serving as a training hulk in Tripoli.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/AlGhardabia2005.jpg" caption="Libyan frigate ''Al Ghardabia'' in [[Valletta]], 2005."] ::

1 × (Type 1159)

213 Al Ghardabia: (struck by NATO in Tripoli Harbour 20 May 2011)

Armament: :*4 × SS-N-2C Styx SSMs :*2 × SA-N-4 SAMs :*4 × 76mm guns :*4 × 30mm guns :*4 × 406mm torpedoes :*1 × RBU-6000 A/S mortar :*20 mines

Origin:

Corvette

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Libyan_Assad_class_missile_corvette.jpg" caption="A starboard quarter view of a Libyan (Italian-built) Assad class missile corvette underway, 1982."] ::

4 × Assad-class corvette

Al Tadjier: (Destroyed by US Navy aircraft)
Al Tougour: (Scrapped in 1993)
Al Kalij: (Scrapped in 1993)
Al Hudud: ( Scrapped in 1993)

Armament :*1 × Otobreda 76 mm gun :*2 × 40 mm Breda Dardo guns :*2 × 35mm Oerlikon cannon :*4 × Albatros Selenia Aspide SAMs :*6 × Otomat anti-ship missiles :*6 × ASW torpedo tubes

Origin:

3 × Nanuchka-class corvette

Ain Zaara: (Destroyed in NATO airstrike, 19 May 2011)
Ain al Gazala: (Damaged 25 March 1986, Decommissioned and scrapped)
Ain Zaquit: (sunk by US Navy in 1986)
Tariq Ibn Ziyad: (Destroyed in Benghazi, 3 November 2014)

Armament :*4 × SS-N-2C Styx SSMs :*2 × SA-N-4 SAMs :*2 × 57mm guns MFBPs

Origin:

Fast attack crafts

Received 12 Osa II missile boats from the Soviet Union between October 1976 and July 1980. In 2009, four were operational: Al Zuara (513), Al Ruha (515), Al Fikah (523) and Al Mathur (525), while eight were non-operational: Al Katum (511), Al Baida (517), Al Nabha (519), Al Safhra (521), Al Mosha (527), Al Sakab (529), Al Bitar (531) and Al Sadad (533). All were based at Tobruk. None remained in service after 2011.

9 × La Combattante II type fast attack craft (Beir Grassa class)

518 Sharara (ex-Beir Grassa): (Non-operational in 2011)
522 Shehab (ex-Beir Gzir): (Damage in May 2011 and abandoned)
524 Wahag (ex-Beir Gitfa):(Damage in May 2011 and abandoned)
526 Waheed (ex-Beir Glulud): (sunk on 24 March 1986 )
528 Shouaiai (ex-Beir Algandula): (Damage in May 2011 and abandoned)
532 Shoula (ex-Beir Ktitat): (Damage in May 2011 and abandoned)
536 Bark (ex-Beir Alkardmen): (Non-operational in 2011)
538 Rad (ex-Beir Alkur): (Damage in May 2011 and abandoned)
542 Laheeb (ex-Beir Alkuesat): (Damage in May 2011 and abandoned)

:Armament :*4 × (2×2) Otomat MkI SSMs :*1 × Oto Melara 76mm gun :*1 × Bofors twin 40mm

:Origin:

Minesweepers

6 × Natya-class minesweeper (Type 266ME)

Armament :*4 × 30mm guns :*4 × 25mm guns :*4 × 25mm guns :*10 mines :*Acoustic & Magnetic sweep

Origin:

2 × Ham-class minesweeper

Zuara: (sold to Malta in 1973)
Brak: (broken up in 1973)

Greetham was loaned from the Royal Navy to the Libyan Navy in November 1962, along with . These were the first two ships in the newly formed Libyan Navy. She was transferred permanently in September 1966, and she was renamed Zuara. She was used as a coastal patrol vessel until 1973, when she was decommissioned.

Armament :*1 × Bofors 40mm gun :*1 × Oerlikon 20mm gun

Oceanographic research ship

1× a former trawler converted in the 1970 called Nour: (Stricken in 2002)

Armament unknown

Origin: (possibly)

Landing ship

4 × Polnocny-class landing ship

Armament :*4 × Strela 2(SA-N-5) surface-to-air missile system :*2 × 30 mm AK-230 air defence gun :*2 × 140 mm Ogon 18-barreled rocket launcher

Origin:

Naval infrastructure

Naval bases in the 2011 Libyan civil war

Ship maintenance and repair facilities

Facilities at Tripoli with foreign technicians for repair of vessels of up to ; a 3,200-ton lift floating dock; floating docks at Benghazi and Tobruk.

References

Levie, Howard. Mine Warfare at Sea. Dordrecht, NL: Martinus Nijhoff, 1992.
War machines encliclopedy, Limited publishing, in Italian version Armi da guerra.
Annati Massimo, Al diavolo le mine!, RID magazine, Coop Riviera Ligure, Italy, June 2005.

Bibliography

References

[https://www.libyaobserver.ly/inbrief/libya-celebrates-57th-anniversary-foundation-libyan-navy Libya celebrates 57th anniversary of the foundation of Libyan Navy] {{Webarchive. link. (2020-06-29 . Libya Observer. Published 3 November 2019.)
"NATO and Libya Operational Media Update for 17 August". [[NATO]].
"AFP: NATO hits 8 Kadhafi ships as Obama predicts demise".
"Tactical Report".
[http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/News-and-Events/Latest-News/2012/June/22/120622-Libya-Visit LIBYAN NAVY VISIT ROYAL NAVY TRAINING BASES] {{webarchive. link. (June 25, 2012)
(25 June 2012). "Libyan Navy visits Royal Naval training bases". Government of the United Kingdom.
(10 June 2016). "Libyan Navy asserts control over ISIL-controlled Sirte".
(20 June 2016). "EU to train Libyan navy and coastguard". [[EUobserver]].
Levie, Howard. [https://books.google.com/books?id=szBXkyL8u1sC&dq=ghat%20libya%20ship&pg=PA160 ''Mine Warfare at Sea'']. Dordrecht, NL: Martinus Nijhoff, 1992. 159-62.
(25 August 2011). "NATO Jet Bombs Libyan Army Boat". Military.com.
(6 January 2014). "Libyan navy opens fire after tanker approaches mutinous port". Reuters.
(24 October 2025). "Al-Hany frigate returns from Malta after undergoing maintenance and technical overhaul there since 2013". Libya Herald.
"Arms transfer database". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
(25 July 2013). "HMS Echo finds 18 wrecks in a remarkable mission".
"Lady Davinia, Sliema Creek, Malta".
(21 May 2011). "NATO hits 8 Kadhafi ships".
(2019-08-27). "5 migrants die, 65 others rescued off Libyan coast".
(2019-05-31). "Kingdom of Militias: Libya's Second War of Post-Qadhafi Succession".

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