# 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:** 2
**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, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/21 "2001-10-10T12:11:41Z")
> [@](#): > > My friend and I believe that Uzbekistan is the only landlocked country to be bordered completely by landlocked countries. Counting Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan as landlocked countries (both have borders on the Caspian Sea, and both have navies, but neither borders the world ocean) it is true that [Uzbekistan](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/uz.html#Geo) is “doubly landlocked”. However, [Liechtenstein](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ls.html#Geo) is in the same boat. (Okay, sorry…um, same geographic state.) Also, the army of [Burundi](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/by.html#Military) includes “naval and air units” (the former on Lake Tanganikya, I presume) and the armed forces of [Rwanda](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rw.html#Military) include a navy; the country’s border includes a stretch of coastline on Lake Kivu. Man, these guys are everywhere! They should form a new international organization; the League of Landlocked Naval Powers or something. (The coastless countries which only have merchant marines could be associate members.) And Liechtenstein or Uzbekistan should clearly form a navy, just to say “up yours” to a heartless and uncaring geographical universe. The Uzbeks could at least sail around on the Aral Sea, at least until it dries up completely. The Liechtensteiners have a border on the Rhine they could float a gunboat or two on. Plus, they could sell commissions, and add to their existing philatelic revenue. I mean, lots of people would probably shell out a few bucks to be a Captain of the Liechtensteiner Navy. Oddly enough, Liechtenstein has signed the Law of the Sea Treaty; God knows why. However, they haven’t ratified it. Perhaps the Diet simply felt the rest of the world was just rubbing salt in the wounds to have even brought it up. ---
**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, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/22 "2001-10-10T12:39:04Z")
Yeah, but Liechtenstein borders Italy, which is not landlocked by my definition, nor is Germany really landlocked by my definition either. I’ve always understood landlocked to mean not having access to the ocean, but most European countries qualify as long as they border a sea which connects directly to the ocean (since you can essentially look at that sea as an extension of the ocean.) So rivers connecting to oceans don’t count, but seas do… ---
**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, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/23 "2001-10-10T12:54:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pulykamell \* > \*\*Yeah, but Liechtenstein borders Italy, \*\* Not in my book. Quoting from [The CIA world factbook](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ls.html): > [@](#): > > Location:Central Europe, between Austria and Switzerland > border countries: Austria 35 km, Switzerland 41 km Look it up on a map! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/24 "2001-10-10T12:58:26Z")
I was once told that Paraguay does have a navy. It has 1 boat and 12 admirals. Each admiral gets to take a turn commanding the boat for 1 month a year. ---
**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, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/25 "2001-10-10T14:06:52Z")
_blush_ Oh my, I cannot believe I’ve made such a stupid geographical error. Urgh! And I’ve driven through it before, too… For some reason I thought it bordered Italy or Germany but, alas, that is not the case. I stand corrected. [hangs head in shame] ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/26 "2001-10-10T17:58:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElvisL1ves \* > \*\*I was once told that Paraguay does have a navy. It has 1 boat and 12 admirals. Each admiral gets to take a turn commanding the boat for 1 month a year. \*\* Make that definite BS 🙂 [Here](http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/paraguay/py_appen.html#table11) is a listing of the assets of the Paraguayan Navy as of 1988. The troop strength of the navy at that time numbered 3,150 men. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/27 "2001-10-10T22:42:06Z")
Another more current Paraguay fleet list: [http://www.hazegray.org/worldnav/americas/americas.htm#6](http://www.hazegray.org/worldnav/americas/americas.htm#6) They don’t seem to have acquired anything major since '85 and have allowed attrition of their pre-1932 stuff. But since the site does not list combatants under 100T nor auxiliaries under 500T, they may be decently equipped with small river-patrol craft and it would not show up. For that same reason the Bolivian, Ugandan, Rwandan, etc. naval services are not listed at all at HazeGray. But seriously, for these countries, SAR and smuggling patrol on the inland waterways is the real need, not surface combatants. Even for some who do have a seacoast but get more out of the rivers, e.g. both Congos. Anyway the gag **ElvisL1ves** quoted would not have been too darn far off the mark back when Stroessner ran Paraguay from the 50s thru late 80s – overall a stereotypical 3rd World dictatorship with an absurd number of Flag/General officers relative to organizational need. Heck, look at the link provided by **Darwin’s Finch** : in 1988 they had “eight divisions of infantry” and the total Army size was… 12,500. Hey, you had to give all those generals a suitable command to keep them happy… and no troops with which to rise up. ---
**Author:** ![TheeGrumpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheeGrumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheeGrumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/28 "2001-10-10T22:46:11Z")
A Google search brings up one reference to [Mongolia’s mighty navy](http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/2001/ep8-11.htm#post), but there’s not much rich information there. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/29 "2001-10-10T22:52:16Z")
Just for the heck of it, **Cecil Adams** on the [Austrian Navy and the Von Trapps](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a950707b.html). ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/30 "2001-10-10T23:20:48Z")
I did a report on Liechtenstein in 6th grade, and I seem to recall that they had one boat that patrolled their section of the Rhine. Couldn’t find any evidence that this is still the case. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/31 "2001-10-10T23:27:04Z")
John Biggins wrote two historical novels about life in Austria’s WWI navy, “Sailor of Austria,” “The Emperor’s Coloured Coat,” and a sequel about its air force, “The Two-headed Eagle.” Nothing to add to the OP, just thought I’d stop in and plug a few books. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2001, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/32 "2001-10-10T23:42:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tamerlane \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*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 \*\* The other famous Austro-Hungarian naval officer was Admiral Horthy, who went on to became dictator of landlocked Hungary. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/33 "2001-10-11T02:20:20Z")
puly, Perhaps you meant to mention Andorra? ---
**Author:** ![slipster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@slipster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slipster)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/34 "2001-10-12T17:04:26Z")
About ten years ago The Wall Street Journal ran a front page article on the Bolivian Navy. An admiral was quoted as saying that the service was useful in drug interdiction programs as it cruised rivers, and added that it was also important to maintain on the chance that Bolivia had a coastline in the future. Not that it is really pertinent, but I recall that the legislature of the State of Nebraska, when wishing to bestow an honor on a public servant, will name him or her an Admiral in the state navy. There is a famous story that William Jennings Bryan, while Secretary of State, mistakenly sent an invitation to the Swiss Navy to participate in a meeting. ---
**Author:** ![Philosophocles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Philosophocles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philosophocles)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/35 "2001-10-13T09:31:25Z")
San Marino and the Vatican ---
**Author:** ![EvilGhandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@EvilGhandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilGhandi)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/36 "2001-10-13T10:50:34Z")
Of course an air force would make more sense. But what would stop a land locked country (hypothetical) with a bunch of bucks from flagging a navy? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/37 "2014-07-06T15:16:43Z")
Zombie Navy’s. But, do riverine forces really count as “Naval”? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/38 "2014-07-06T15:41:05Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Well in _The Sound of Music_ Captain von Trapp is an Austrian naval officer, which I always thought was odd. If you think that’s odd there’s the case of fellow Austro-Hungarian navy officer Miklós Horthy, not only was he an admiral in country without a navy he was also Regent of a kingdom that lacked a king. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/39 "2014-07-06T16:54:24Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Zombie Navy’s. > > But, do riverine forces really count as “Naval”? Yes, the root of “naval” is a word meaning “ship”, not one meaning “sea”. So long as ships are involved it’s a navy. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529/40 "2014-07-06T17:11:08Z")
I’ve actually seen the boat that comprises Malawi’s Navy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-landlocked-nations-with-a-naval-service/86529.md?page=3)