# Any landlocked nations with a Naval service? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 10, 2001, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529 "2001-10-10T05:35:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/1 "2001-10-10T05:35:47Z")
What landlocked nations (past or present) have a Naval service, military or merchant? Under the Convention on the High Seas of 1958 and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982, landlocked nations are allowed to operate ships under their own flag. The only country that comes to mind is Switzerland. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/2 "2001-10-10T05:42:00Z")
Well in _The Sound of Music_ Captain von Trapp is an Austrian naval officer, which I always thought was odd. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/3 "2001-10-10T05:53:22Z")
I just looked in Google and there must be lots. > [@](#): > > The 12 landlocked countries are: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Nepal, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe From [http://law.uniserve.edu.au/law/pub/icl/mStudies/maritime\_studies\_90/ms\_Security.html](http://law.uniserve.edu.au/law/pub/icl/mStudies/maritime_studies_90/ms_Security.html) Also Paraquay, Luxembourg, Bolivia. Maybe you would have to check out _Jane’s_ for a list of all navies. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/4 "2001-10-10T06:15:59Z")
The military forces of both [Paraguay](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/pa.html#Military) and [Bolivia](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bl.html#Military) include separate naval branches. Both countries have international borders with important bodies of water; i.e., the Paraguay River and Lake Titicaca, respectively. [Azerbaijan](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/aj.html#Military), [Kazakhstan](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/kz.html#Military), and [Turkmenistan](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tx.html#Military) all have navies; although none has direct access to the world ocean, all border on the land-locked (and internationally disputed) Caspian Sea. The army of [Malawi](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mi.html#Military) (a significant portion of whose international border is formed by the large Lake Nyasa) includes a “Naval Detachment”; the army of [Laos](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/la.html#Military) includes a “riverine element” (much of that country’s border with Thailand is formed by the Mekong River). [Ethiopia](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/et.html#Military) became a landlocked nation after Eritrean independence in 1993; former Ethiopian naval bases are now under Eritrean control and the Ethiopian Navy’s ships were sold. Although neither country has a separate maritime military force, the merchant marines of [Austria](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/au.html#Trans) and [Switzerland](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sz.html#Trans) total 23 and 24 ships, respectively. The merchant marine of [Hungary](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/hu.html#Trans) consists of a single ship. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/5 "2001-10-10T06:30:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by don’t ask \* > \*\*Well in _The Sound of Music_ Captain von Trapp is an Austrian naval officer, which I always thought was odd. \*\* He was an officer in the navy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which pre-1918 had a fairly substantial navy based from Adriatic ports like Fiume 🙂 . - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/6 "2001-10-10T06:30:24Z")
Chad is landlocked too. ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/7 "2001-10-10T06:34:42Z")
Bulgaria, Romania, Luxembourg, Leichtenstein, Andora, Czech Republic, Zaire, Congo, Central African Republic? there are loads. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/8 "2001-10-10T06:36:18Z")
Oops…missed a couple. The merchant marine of [Slovakia](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/lo.html#Trans) includes 3 ships. [Luxembourg](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/lu.html#Trans)’s merchant marine includes a whopping 50 ships. > [@](#): > > Chad is landlocked too. Well, yes, but [Chad](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cd.html#Trans) has neither a navy nor a merchant marine. ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/9 "2001-10-10T06:37:06Z")
> [@](#): > > ## quote: > > ## The 12 landlocked countries are: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Nepal, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe where did you get this info from it is bollox. very incomplete. ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/10 "2001-10-10T06:38:55Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by MEBuckner_ > **The military forces of both Paraguay and Bolivia include separate naval branches. Both countries have international borders with important bodies of water; i.e., the Paraguay River and Lake Titicaca, respectively.** IIRC, Bolivia also _had_ sea access at one time, before losing it to Chile. They still want it back. But anyway, I got chased out of a Bolivian naval station while visiting Lake Titicaca some years back. Just imagine, without those valiant servicemen, I could’ve invaded Bolivia! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/11 "2001-10-10T06:39:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Niobium Knight \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > ## quote: > > > > ## The 12 landlocked countries are: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Nepal, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe > > where did you get this info from it is bollox. very incomplete. \*\* From the link below it. It refers only to navies using the Indian Ocean. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/12 "2001-10-10T06:40:20Z")
Neither [Bulgaria](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bu.html#Geo) nor [Romania](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ro.html#Geo) is even remotely landlocked. The [Democratic Republic of the Congo](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cg.html#Geo) (the former Zaire) has a very short coastline (37 km) at the mouth of the Congo River. ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/13 "2001-10-10T06:41:58Z")
ah yeah sorry i was guessing from memory about Romania and Bulgaria. my memory isnt too hot. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/14 "2001-10-10T06:45:41Z")
Ah! The military forces of [Uganda](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ug.html#Military) include a “marine unit”. Uganda’s international borders include a major coastline on the very large Lake Victoria, and stretches on the smaller Lakes Albert and Edward. **don’t ask** : I don’t think that link is saying those landlocked countries necessarily have navies; the question is whether to include them in the “Indian Ocean Region” for geopolitical purposes. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/15 "2001-10-10T06:50:58Z")
Oops. Sorry about that. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/16 "2001-10-10T06:56:44Z")
how about Laos? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/17 "2001-10-10T07:02:37Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Philistine_ > IIRC, Bolivia also _had_ sea access at one time, before losing it to Chile. They still want it back. But anyway, I got chased out of a Bolivian naval station while visiting Lake Titicaca some years back. Just imagine, without those valiant servicemen, I could’ve invaded Bolivia! 😃 Yeah, Bolivia lost its coastline in the [War of the Pacific](http://www.bartleby.com/65/pa/Pacific.html) back in the 19th Century. I remember coming across an entry for Bolivia in _Jane’s Fighting Ships_ back in the early '90’s which indicated that the official name of the country’s naval force was the “Armada Boliviana”. Granted, I think that just means “Bolivian Fleet” in Spanish, it still struck me as pretty funny. (They have apparently since renamed it the less comic-sounding “Fuerza Naval Boliviana”–probably all the other countries kept making fun of them.) I figured at the time it must be some kind of over-compensation for having lost their entire coastline, surely a traumatic event for any nation. IIRC, the commandant of the “Armada Boliviana” (dontcha just wanna click your heels and say “Ole!” when you read that?) at the time was a Vice Admiral; I pictured this guy in a spotless white uniform, a really fancy hat, a dress sword, and a _tremendous_ number of ribbons and medals. The fact that the Armada Boliviana presumably spends much of its time patrolling Lake Titicaca (the world’s highest deepest lake with the funniest name) merely adds to the humor. > [@](#): > > how about Laos? How about it? As previously noted, the Lao People’s Army includes a “riverine element”. But AFAIK there is no Laotian Armada. ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/18 "2001-10-10T08:13:15Z")
Don’t forget **Switzerland**. Definitively land-locked, but with nice lakes. quoting from [Flags of the world](http://www.fotw.net/flags/ch-sea.html#navy): > [@](#): > > Switzerland does have a small navy of sorts. Lakes Konstanz and Leman (Geneva) form international frontiers, and their navies consist of a few patrol craft. Switzerland also has a major Rhine commercial fleet (you can see the Swiss flag flying all the way to the Netherlands), which military patrol craft in time of war. Both the navy and air force are branches of the army (like the infantry and artillery). ---
**Author:** ![grtho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b19c9b/32.png) [@grtho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grtho)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/19 "2001-10-10T11:24:31Z")
Under the 1919 Traeaty of Versailles the Czech Republic and Slovakia still have an autonomous port area in Hamburg so are in theory countries with Ocean access. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/20 "2001-10-10T11:43:38Z")
I was about to mention Hungary, but just realized someone already beat me to it…cripes. But a bit of trivia… My friend and I believe that Uzbekistan is the only landlocked country to be bordered completely by landlocked countries. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529.md?page=2)