Ferrol Naval Base (Arsenal de Ferrol)

Ferrol Naval Base, also known as the Arsenal of Ferrol, is the Spanish Navy's principal Atlantic base and arsenal. It stands on the Ría de Ferrol, an inlet on the Atlantic coast of Galicia in north-western Spain.

The base homeports the Álvaro de Bazán-class air-defence frigates, including Álvaro de Bazán, Almirante Juan de Borbón, Blas de Lezo, Méndez Núñez and Cristóbal Colón. It also berths the Serviola-class ocean patrol vessels Serviola, Centinela, Vigía and Atalaya, the patrol ship Cabo Fradera, and the replenishment oilers Patiño and Cantabria.

Facilities comprise a fitting-out and repair basin with mooring along its perimeter, dry docks, and workshops. Dock 5 was enlarged in 2003 to accommodate the Álvaro de Bazán-class frigates. Twentieth-century construction added an Electricity and Electronics Workshop, a Cannon Workshop, new warehouses, upgraded facilities serving docks 1 and 2, and Marine Infantry barracks. The Ferrol shipyards adjoining the arsenal have built major surface units for the Spanish Navy, among them the España-class battleships in the early twentieth century, and by 1912 concentrated on battleship and cruiser construction while destroyers and submarines were built at Cartagena. Training establishments on site have included the School of Machinists and the School of Naval Engineers, founded in 1850, together with a steam engine workshop. The Naval Archive of Ferrol was inaugurated in 2013.

Warships first used the Ría de Ferrol in the sixteenth century, but the site became the Spanish Navy's main Atlantic port in 1724 under Felipe V. Expansion of the shipyards and arsenal followed in the 1740s and 1750s, proposed under Minister of the Navy José Patiño and carried out by his successor, the Marquis de la Ensenada; the first ship, San Fernando, was launched in 1751, by which time twelve hulls could be built at once. By 1790 the arsenal was largely complete, employing 5,440 men and able to maintain 70 ships.