Azerbaijani Navy

A ceremony at Puta Naval Base.

The navy operates two naval bases: one in Baku (Puta) and one for the Marines in Zığ. The current shipyard is located between Puta and Qaradagh.[6][7] The Puta Base is the largest military facility in the Caspian Sea basin. Construction began on it in October 2010. It manages the Navy and provides comprehensive control over the surface conditions in the sector of the Caspian Sea belonging to Azerbaijan.[8] There is also a Ship Repair Plant in the Navy.[9] The site of the old Soviet Naval base in Baku is now transformed to non-military use include an arts centre.[10]

Organizationally, the Azerbaijani Navy includes:[11]

• Main Headquarters
• Surface Ship Brigade
  • Water Area Protection Division
  • Division of Landing Ships
  • Division of Minesweepers
  • Division of Search and Rescue Vessels'
  • Training Courts Division
• Brigade of Patrol Ships
• Marine Infantry
• 641st Special Warfare Naval Unit
• Sea Sabotage and Reconnaissance Brigade
• Reserve
  • Azerbaijan Coast Guard
    • Patrol Ship Brigade
• Mobilization reserve
  • Azerbaijan Merchant Fleet

• Faculty of the Navy, Azerbaijan Higher Military Academy (the former Azerbaijan Higher Naval Academy) - training of officers of the fleet and naval units of the border troops
• Training Center of the Azerbaijani Navy - training of warrant officers and foremen of the contract service.

Azerbaijani Navy personnel during a military parade in Baku.

In 2006, the U.S. Government donated three motorboats to the Azerbaijani Navy. There is also an agreement to provide U.S. support to refurbish Azerbaijani warships in the Caspian Sea.

On May 19, 2006, the Azerbaijani and Turkish Navy held a joint military exercise on safeguarding the security of oil and gas pipelines in Baku. The training session was observed by Azerbaijan Navy commander Shahin Sultanov and Turkish Armed Forces attaché Seyhan Ceyhan. The activities aimed to ensure the safety of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC), the main export pipeline to take Caspian oil to Turkey and further on to world markets, as well as on expanding cooperation between the two countries’ military forces. The exercises started with the clearance of mines on the seabed. This was followed by rendering harmless the traps planted in the area by symbolic terrorists. The training concluded with the practice of maritime and air operations.[12]

In 2007, an agreement between the Azerbaijani Navy and a U.S. military company was concluded, which stated that a part of the Azerbaijani Navy would be equipped with advanced laser marksmanship devices/systems. U.S. company specialists were also due to give training for the use of this new equipment.[13]

Vice Admiral Kevin Cosgriff, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, meets with Vice Admiral Shahin Sultanov in Baku, Azerbaijan

The Caspian Guard Initiative is a framework program designed to coordinate activities in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan with those of U.S. Central Command and other U.S government agencies to enhance Caspian security. The initiative assists the two countries in improving their ability to prevent and, if needed, respond to terrorism, nuclear proliferation, drug and human trafficking, and other transnational threats in the Caspian region. EUCOM is responsible for operations in Azerbaijan.[14]