The Georgian Navy (Georgian Naval Forces; Georgian: საქართველოს სამხედრო საზღვაო ძალები, sak'art'velos samkhedro-sazghvao dzalebi) was a branch of the Georgian Defense Ministry armed forces which was merged with the Georgian Coast Guard and transferred to the Ministry for Internal Affairs of Georgia in 2009. It is responsible for the security of the entire coastline of Georgia, 310 km, as well as the Georgian territorial waters.

The headquarters and a principal naval base are located at the Black Sea port of Poti. The other, smaller naval base is in Batumi, Adjara. Besides the Poti-based naval force, the Georgian navy also includes a Special Counter-terrorist Detachment.

Before the 2008 Russian-Georgian war, the Georgian Navy consisted of 19 boats and 531 personnel of which 181 were officers, 200 NCOs, 114 conscripts and 36 civilians.^[1] The current commander is Captain Besik Shengelia.

Contents 1 History 2 Georgian Navy vessels 2.1 Missile boats 2.2 After the War 3 Structural changes in 2009 3.1 Alleged Blockade of Abkhazia 4 References

[edit] History

Despite Georgia's location at the Black Sea coast and historical association with maritime commerce, it has never actually possessed any sizable fleet. The first attempt to build a modern navy dates to the country's short-lived independence as the Democratic Republic of Georgia from 1918 to 1921. The Georgian navy at that time consisted of a flagship, several sailing-boats, and a few tugs commandeered from Russian owners during the Russian Civil War. The 1921 Red Army invasion brought the nation-building to an end and Georgia became part of the Soviet Union. By 1990, Georgia’s coastal waters had been controlled by the Poti-based 184th Coast Guard Brigade of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. Smaller bases were located at Ochamchire, Batumi, Anaklia, and Sukhumi. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Poti brigade was completely withdrawn from Georgia in 1992, having left behind only six vessels. However, the Russian border guards continued to patrol Georgia’s coastline until the mid-1990s. In February 1990, the Cabinet of Ministers of Georgia decreed an ad hoc commission for the army-building problems. One of its groups, led by Captain Alexander Javakhishvili, the former commander of a Soviet nuclear submarine, was responsible for building up a navy. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Georgia, not a CIS member at that time, was not included in the initial Russian-Ukrainian Black Sea Fleet partition negotiations in January 1992. Thus, when the separatist war in Abkhazia broke out in 1992, Georgia was without an effective naval force and defense system. The only two significant naval operations during the war included the August 1992 evacuation of 173 women and children from Bichvinta (Pitsunda) and the April 1993 destruction of a pro-Abkhaz Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev’s camp at Gudauta. Georgia set out to build a navy on July 7, 1993 (Georgia’s Navy Day). The navy-building began with equipping fishing vessels by small caliber anti-aircraft guns and machine guns. In 1996, Georgia resumed its demands on its portion of the ex-Soviet Black Sea Fleet, and the Russian refusal to allot Georgia a portion of the ex-Soviet navy became another bone of contention in the progressively deteriorating Georgian-Russian relations. This time, Ukraine endorsed Tbilisi’s claims, turning over several patrol boats to the Georgian Navy and starting to train Georgian crews, but was unable to include in the final fleet deal a transfer of the formerly Poti-based vessels to Georgia.^[2] Later, the rest of the Georgian share was decided to be ceded to Russia in return for diminution of debt.

Later in the 1990s, Georgia, with the help of the NATO member states, chiefly the United States, Turkey and Greece, managed to build up a small naval force. Yet, until recently, the Georgian Navy had, in many ways, been the most inferior component of the armed forces without any clear operational doctrine and lacking resources necessary to maintain seaworthy ships or conduct training missions. In contrast, the Georgian Coast Guard, which is part of the Border Guard Department and subordinate to the Interior Ministry, is the most effective force in Georgia today. Responsible for border security, the coast guard polices Georgia's coastline (with the exception of a portion of breakaway Abkhazia's waters), manages the 12 nautical miles (22 km) of territorial water and secures the country's two principal ports, Poti and Batumi.^[3]

Following the Georgia's 2008 war with Russia, in which Georgia had most of its naval forces destroyed, it was decided to merge the Georgian Navy with the Georgian Coast Guard.^[4]

Georgia is one of the founding members and a participant of the Black Sea Naval Co-operation Task Group.

[edit] Georgian Navy vessels

The Georgian Navy consists of 19 boats. Until 19 August 2008, when it was destroyed by Russian forces, the most powerful combat unit was the missile boat Dioskuria. The other surface combat vessel, the missile boat Tbilisi, was found on fire in the Georgian naval base of Poti. The remaining vessels are chiefly patrol boats of various sizes, although there is one larger patrol ship, the Aeti (აეტი), formerly the German minesweeper M-1085 Minden. The navy may have suffered extensive losses in the 2008 South Ossetian Conflict, so the figures are possibly not up to date. On 9 August 2008 one Georgian warship was reported to have been hit by gunfire and sunk by units of the Russian Black Sea Fleet off the Abkhazian coast when allegedly entered a Russia imposed 'security zone' along with three other vessels.^[5] Other units were set on fire or sunk by Russian forces at Poti naval pier on 13 August.^[6]

[edit] Missile boats

• The Tbilisi (თბილისი) was a Soviet project 206MR missile boat, obtained in 1999 from Ukraine. It was built to be equipped with two Termite missile launchers, a 76 mm AK-176 dual purpose gun and a six-barreled 30 mm AK-630M Gatling gun. The ship was discovered on fire in the Georgian naval base of Poti on August 13, 2008.^[7]

• The Dioskuria (დიოსკურია) was a French-built La Combattante II (1971), obtained in 2004 from Greece, formerly the PG Ypoploiarchos Batsis (P 17). Built to be equipped with the four MM38 Exocet missile system, two Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannons and two 533 mm torpedo-launchers, she was the most powerful combat craft in the Georgian Navy.^[8] She too was severely damaged in the 2008 South Ossetia war^[9] and sunk in Poti.^[10]

[edit] After the War

Following the 2008 war with Russia, it appears that Georgia was able to recapitalize at least a portion of its fleet. The cutter "Ayety" (former German minesweeper "Minden") and "Tskaltubo", which had been scuttled in the port of Poti, were both raised. Judging by recent photographs, it appears that the "Ayety" has been returned to active service. The "Tskaltubo", however, suffered much more extensive damage than the "Ayety", and her return to active service remains questionable. She is currently in dry dock.^[11][12][13]

As of the beginning of 2009, both the "Tbilisi" and "Dioskuria" remained submerged in the port of Poti. They are likely total losses.^{[12][unreliable source?]}

Since the end of the war, Georgia has placed at least one Turkish built MRTP-33 patrol/fast attack boat, the P-24 "Sokhumi", into service. At least one more ship of this class is on order.^{[12][unreliable source?]}

Georgia also still has at least five smaller patrol boats armed with Zu-23-2 anti-aircraft guns that survived the war with Russia.^[12][14][15]

Overall, it appears that Georgian naval losses during the 2008 war with Russia totaled the "Tbilisi", "Dioskuria", and "Tskaltubo", which were sunk in Poti, and the cutter "Georgiy Toreli", which was allegedly sunk in the "Battle off the coast of Abkhazia".Georgia also had a number of small, rigid hull-inflatables hauled off by Russian forces as war trophies.All other Georgian naval assets appear to have survived the war either unscathed or have been repaired and put back into service. The Georgians have also been able to partially replace their losses with patrol/fast attack boats being purchased from Turkey. However, so far the heaviest armament seen on these ships are 25-30mm cannon, and no Georgian naval vessels have yet been seen armed with ship-to-ship missiles since the end of the 2008 war with Russia.^{[12][unreliable source?]}

[edit] Structural changes in 2009

In 2009 Georgia's remaining few operational naval units were consolidated with those of the Georgian Coast Guard and placed under the Ministry for Internal Affairs of Georgia.^[4]

[edit] Alleged Blockade of Abkhazia

During August 2009, the Georgian Coast Guard seized three commercial shipping vessels that were attempting to sail into Abkhazian waters. Abkhazian authorities have accused Georgia of maintaining a blockade of the break-away province in order to weaken and isolate it.^[16]

[edit] References

• Army & Society in Georgia (1998). Slavic & East European Collections at UC Berkeley. Accessed on August 13, 1992.
• (Georgian) The Georgian Naval Forces
• (Georgian) Vessels of the Georgian Navy