Omani Navy

Anything and everything about sailing vessels, be they warships, merchantmen or something completely different
AvM
Rear-Admiral
Posts: 236
Joined: Tue May 30, 2017 9:39 am

Omani Navy

Post by AvM »

c 1650 Omani started to built their fleet

They reporded ´ly captured some Portuguese ships
(Muscat was taken)
Some ships were purchased from British and Dutch.
Large ships were built at Surat, including one 74 gun ship.

Perhaps somebody has any lists of 1650-1725 of Omani Navy
Renville
Able Seaman
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2019 12:52 am

Re: Omani Navy

Post by Renville »

https://books.google.com/books?id=Uz3WC ... ip&f=false

From the above link, the 74 was named Liverpool, and like the rest of his European influenced warships, built in India.

Also of interest:

https://www.academia.edu/35251769/THE_N ... _1835_1840

The following links contain a ship plan claimed to be the Imaum/Liverpool included:

https://books.google.com/books?id=imFEB ... ne&f=false

https://www.academia.edu/37840018/Arabi ... i_evidence

Supposedly her figurehead:

https://museum.novascotia.ca/collection ... figurehead

Hope this helps you. (Incidentally my first post on this website)
Grammont
Lieutenant
Posts: 58
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 10:58 am

Re: Omani Navy

Post by Grammont »

A Collection of Papers Relative to Ship Building in India [1840] has a list of seven ships built for the Emaum [sic] of Muscat between 1802 and 1835.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Spl ... J&pg=PA167

The Liverpool which was given to William IV as a gift was renamed HMS Imaum

Historically as Muscat was the largest city in Oman the Sultanate can appear as Oman, Muscat and Muscat and Oman depending on the source
AvM
Rear-Admiral
Posts: 236
Joined: Tue May 30, 2017 9:39 am

Re: Omani Navy

Post by AvM »

Renville & Grammont !

Many thanks for your research, but I have asked of 1650-1725 of Omani Navy not of XIX xcentury , which is relatively good know.

In any case the Omani Navy was never really researched and doumented.

Muscat was portuguese till 1650, when was taken by Imam of Oman.

In 1669 the Omani fleet had
about 12-15 ship
among them were 6 ships of Surat 'S merchants of 350t to 500tons

In 1694 Surat was visited by a fleet of
- 9 Omani ships

In 1705 Musquat had
- 14 warships , one of them had 70 guns , and none had less than 20 guns
- 20 merchantmen
(of them 14-16 were not in port)
They were built at Surat and the Indus River

In 1710 the Muscat navy was credited to have
DUNIA - 74 guns - 900-1000 men
HUCK - 64 guns - 600-700 men
DOEREAS - 54 guns - 500-600 men
3 ships - 36 -40 guns - 200 men each
2 ghubras - 12 guns -

In 1715 the Muscat Navy listed
- one ship 74 of guns
- two 60 guns
- one of 50 guns
- 18 of 12 to 32 guns
- number of rowing gunboats of 4 to 8 guns

Imam of Oman became Sultan in mid XIX century.

In 1840 the capital was moved to Zanzibar.
Last edited by AvM on Tue Feb 25, 2020 11:07 pm, edited 4 times in total.
AvM
Rear-Admiral
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Re: Omani Navy

Post by AvM »

The Ship of the Line LIVERPOOL was named after the sailing frigate LIVERPOOL (built 1814) which was sold y the Royal Navy to Imam on 16 April 1822, and on 6.08.1822 sailed from Bombay as Imaum 40-gun ship under British captain Thomas Skine for Muscat, returned from sea 10.08.1822, sailed again 17.09.1822 for Muscat under British captain William Richardson. Last mentioned 1824.

Selling of frigates and large ships was officially prohibited in Brtain, but LIVERPOOL was sold becouse supression of piracy in Arab Seas.
AvM
Rear-Admiral
Posts: 236
Joined: Tue May 30, 2017 9:39 am

Re: Omani Navy

Post by AvM »

Recently was published a book

Oman: A Maritime History. (Studies on Ibadism and Oman)
Abdulrahman Al Salimi & Eric Staples (eds),
(Studies on Ibadism and Oman).
Hildesheim, Zürich and New York: Georg Olms Verlag, 2016.
254 pp., illustrations, notes, contributor biographies.
ISBN 978-3-487-15390-2.

Unfortunately there are nearly nothing about Omani Navy.
AvM
Rear-Admiral
Posts: 236
Joined: Tue May 30, 2017 9:39 am

Re: Omani Navy

Post by AvM »

Please note that the Oman navy was divided in 1856.
Most of the ships were transferred to Zanzibar.
Only three ships including frigate CAROLINE and RAHMANI were left.
Thye were also officially in 1861 transferred to Zanzibar.
RAHMANI was sold 1875 in Bombay for RS10,000.
AvM
Rear-Admiral
Posts: 236
Joined: Tue May 30, 2017 9:39 am

Re: Omani Navy

Post by AvM »

Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol I. Historical. Part IA & IB. J G Lorimer. 1915'

In 1799 Saiyid Sultan of Masqat, not without encouragement from the
Persian governor of Shiraz, declared war against the ''Utub of Bahrain; this
he did ostensibly on the ground of their refusing to recognise a tax or due
which he claimed the right to levy on all vessels passing Masqat, but really
with the object of conquering Bahrain. The marine of the A1 Khali 1'ah
seems to have consisted at this time of three large vessels only, all of which
were captured at sea, while returning from India, by the navy of Masqat;
but Saiyid Sultan did not as yet venture to land in Bahrain. The 'Utub,
alarmed by his proceedings, opened a correspondence with Shaikh Nasir of
Bushehr, who received their advances with alacrity and, on theii offering
to become tributary to Persia, proceeded privately to Bahrain and received
from them an instalment of revenue on account of the past year.
JohnH
Warrant Officer
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Re: Omani Navy

Post by JohnH »

The Sultan of Zanzibar acquired the following ships on succession: frigates Shah Alam, Victoria and Piedmontese, corvettes Artemise and Nasiri, brigs Taji and Gazelle, and trading ships Nadir Shah and Salihi. He paid his father's estate for them. He himself then built the corvette Iskander Shah at Bombay in 1859. See correspondence of 18 September 1860 from the British consul at Zanzibar in British Parliamentary Papers: Reports from Committees (1871), vol. 6, pp. 181-2 of the Report on the Slave Trade (East Coast of Africa).

Robert Landen, Oman Since 1856 (Princeton University Press, 1967) says of the division of the fleet on p. 117:

"The ruin of the country's hitherto considerable navy also contributed to the decline of Omani maritime power in the 1860s. After Sayyid Sa'id's death in 1856 most of the navy was anchored at Zanzibar, a situation formalized in 1861 as part of the arbitration award that divided the Omani Empire. Even those ships remaining in Masqat were sold during the 1860s, so the decade closed with Oman no longer possessing a navy of any consequence. This was significant economically as well as politically because Sayyid Sa'id had used his navy for merchant as well as military activity, and he was the leading shipowner in his realm."

Omani warships in this period had a mixture of Arabic and European names. Shah Alam, for example, means "King of the World" while Victoria honoured Queen Victoria whom Sultan Sayyid Sa'id regarded as an ally.
JohnH
Warrant Officer
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Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 4:30 am

Re: Omani Navy

Post by JohnH »

Not strictly on the topic, but Sayyid Sa’id (Sultan of Oman from 1806 to 1856) made his pilgrimage to Mecca aboard his purchased frigate Liverpool in 1824. Hence the significance of perpetuating its name in his ship of the line launched soon afterwards at Bombay on 10 November 1826. The original Liverpool was meanwhile broken up in 1825 (also at Bombay).
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