On 3rd of February 2015, The EUROMARFOR Permanent Cell Representative Officer of Portugal was promoted to Capitão-de-mar-e-guerra (Navy Captain).

The event took place at CINCNAV, inside the Italian Navy Headquarter. Captain (N) Correia received the new rank shoulder boards from the hands of the Comandante in Capo della Squadra Navale (The Admiral of the Italian Fleet - CINCNAV), Ammiraglio di Squadra Filippo Marina Foffi.

“Capitão-de-mar-e-guerra” (Captain of sea and war) is a rank in a small number of navies, notably those of Portugal and Brazil, which corresponds either to the rank of ship-of-the-line captain or the US and Commonwealth rank of full captain.

The term captain of sea and war, like the modern rank of ship-of-the-line captain in the navies of France, Italy, and Spain, has deep historic roots. Although the rank was first formally established in the 17th century, the expression had been sometimes been used in the Portuguese and Spanish (as Capitán de Mar y Guerra) armadas of the 16th century. But generally, in the 16th and early 17th centuries, the captain of a Portuguese man-of-war was simply called a capitão, while the commander of a fleet was termed capitão-mor, literally "captain-major".

During the latter half of the 17th century, the term "captain of sea and war" came to designate the commander of a larger man-of-war - the ship of the line that began evolving at that time. When that happened, the Portuguese Navy, as other navies, came to use the term capitão-de-fragata and capitão-tenente, literally "frigate captain" and "captain-lieutenant", to designate the commanders of smaller warships.

When Brazil gained her independence from Portugal in 1822, her Navy adopted the Portuguese rank denominations, which both countries still use.

Today, the rank of captain of sea and war exists also in navies of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau.

Congratulations to our dear colleague Armando. Fair winds and following seas!

The EUROMARFOR Permanent Cell and CINCNAV staff.