Omanis have been practicing seafaring since ancient times, specifically from the fourth millennium BC. Their navigational activities increased with the booming sea trade throughout Mesopotamia and the Nile Valley civilizations at the time when the Sumerians knew Oman by the name of Majan. Oman had prospered during the Assyrian period and the second period of the Babylonian Chaldeans. There was a great similarity between the Phoenicians and the ancient people of Oman as they both skilled in maritime business and shipbuilding.

Omanis famously known as pioneer navigators and capable sailors. They succeeded in establishing an active naval force, deployed in the Indian Ocean and East Africa over the past centuries. In this context, the role played by Sayyid Said bin Sultan during the nineteenth century was of tremendous importance. He established an unprecedentedly large naval fleet and sent ships on diplomatic and trade missions to the United States and Europe. The ship ‘Al Saultanah’ sailed to New York on 30^th April 1840, commanded by Ahmed bin Al-Numan, the first Arab envoy to arrive in America. Sheikh Ali bin Nasser, Governor of Mombasa, proceeded to London in 1842 on board ‘Al Sultanah’ as an ambassador to Britain during the region of Queen Victoria.

Today, the navy is a powerful force with an effective presence in the region and participants in many various naval events, parades and reviews. Thanks to the heightened concern of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq -may Allah bless him-, the Royal Navy of Oman possesses a fleet of modern ships, fully capable of meeting operational requirements in a variety of situations and preserving Omani maritime history and glory.