Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro

The Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro (AMRJ) is a military organization of the Brazilian Navy. It is located in Ilha das Cobras, at the Guanabara Bay, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The Arsenal is the main maintenance center for the Brazilian Navy, involving the design, construction and maintenance of ships and submarines, not only for the Brazilian Navy, but also to friendly nations. The AMRJ is shipbuilding both for strategic reasons (mastery of technologies, seeking the reduction of external dependence), as economic ones, seeking nationalization of components and the encouragement of domestic industry. Beside the AMRJ, the Brazilian Navy also has naval bases, that act in support of the Naval Districts, ships in transit or in specific technical areas. Among than are the Naval Base of Aratu, the Naval Base of Val-de-Cães and the River Base of Ladário.

The institution dates back to the installation of Arsenal do Rio de Janeiro, at the foot of the hill of St. Benedict. Created in December 29, 1763 by the viceroy Antônio Álvares da Cunha, first count da Cunha, had the intention to repair the ships of the Portuguese Navy. At the time, the capital of the colony was being transferred from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro, among other reasons, for a better protection of the gold that came from Minas Gerais by the Royal Road. With the arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family in 1808, the Arsenal started to be designated as Arsenal Real da Marinha or simply as Arsenal da Corte. In 1820, its dependencies began to expand to the Ilha das Cobras. After the independence of Brazil, faced with the need to organize and operate a Navy, the activities of the Arsenal became a priority. At this stage, started to be called as Arsenal Imperial da Marinha, better known as Arsenal de Marinha da Corte.

The nineteenth century watched the transition from sailing to steam navigation. During the so-called Era Mauá, the vessels were built in the shipyard in Ponta da Areia, in Niterói. Later, with the outbreak of the Paraguayan War, vessels for the Brazilian Navy were built in shipyards in the England and in the AMRJ. At the end of the conflict, Brazil had the most powerful navy in the South Atlantic, and the AMRJ a valuable and experient body of naval engineers, which provided the country the capacity to design and build its own ships. In 1938 two Arsenais coexisted: the Arsenal de Marinha das Ilha das Cobras(AMIC) and the Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro (AMRJ). After 1948, only the Arsenal located in Ilha das Cobras survived, assuming the designation of Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro.

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