Angola inaugurates Soyo Naval Base

An Ocean Eagle 43 patrol vessel is seen with an unusual weapon during the inauguration of Angola’s Soyo Naval Base. A 12-tube launcher mounted on the deck behind the bridge is obscured by the sailors standing in front of it. (Centro de Imprensa da Presidência da República de Angola)

Angola’s President João Lourenço formally inaugurated the expanded naval base at Soyo on 10 July, the 47th anniversary of the Angolan Navy.

Located at the mouth of the Congo River in the far north of Angola, the Soyo base is far better located than the main naval base in Luanda for protecting the country’s offshore oilfields, countering smugglers and pirates, and supporting operations in the country’s Cabinda exclave to the north.

The project was carried out under a EUR270 million (USD297.1 million) contract awarded to the Portuguese company Mota-Engil Group in 2019, with financing guaranteed by the Portuguese government. It included dredging the access channel, constructing a new wharf and piers, and constructing new buildings, making the facility significantly larger than Luanda Naval Base.