Azerbaijani Navy The Azerbaijan Navy ( ) is the Naval component of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces operating in the Caspian Sea . History . The inception of Azerbaijani Naval Forces dates back to August 5 , 1918 when the government of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic established the navy force on the basis of Russian Imperial fleet deployed in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea . The navy had 6 ships . After establishment of Soviet rule in Azerbaijan , the navy was transferred under jurisdiction of Soviet Navy . In 1991 , with collapse of the Soviet Union , the Azerbaijani fleet of Soviet Navy was divided between Azerbaijan and Russian Federation . In July 1992 , the Azerbaijani ships were put into operation under Azerbaijani Flag raiding the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea . According to the Presidential Decree of Heydar Aliyev from 1996 , August 5 was declared the " Day of Azerbaijani Navy " . As of today , Azerbaijani Navy is considered second strongest in the Caspian Sea after Russian fleet . Jane ' s Fighting Ships said in their entry for the Azeri Navy in their 2001 - 2002 edition that ' the Coast Guard was formed in July 2002 with ships transferred from the Caspian Flotilla and the Border Guard . By 1995 overall control had been resumed by the Russians in order to provide adequate maintenance and support . The aim is to be independent again in due course . ' It named the navy ' s commander at the time as Captain Rafig Asgarov . Currently , the navy is led by Vice Admiral Shahin Sultanov . Navy Special Forces . In 2001 , Azerbaijan created a special forces unit which was established with cooperation with the Turkish Navy . The training and organisation structure of the unit may be similar to Turkish special forces , Su Altı Taarruz and United States Special Forces who have a training relationship with them . In 2004 a U . S . Navy SEAL team from Little Creek Amphibious Base , Va . , participate in joint exercises with the Azeri Navy ’ s 641st Special Warfare Naval Unit , headquartered at the Azeri Naval Station outside Baku . The unit has been described as an ' impressive new maritime special forces unit . In 2005 , Blackwater USA ' s Maritime Division was contracted to conduct interdiction training for the Azerbaijani naval special forces . Cooperation with U . S . . In 2006 the US Government donated three motorboats to the Azerbaijani navy . There is also an agreement to provide US support to refurbish Azeri warships in the Caspian sea . On May 19 , 2006 the Azeri and Turkish Navy held a joint military exercise on safeguarding the security of oil and gas pipelines in Baku . The training session was observed by the Azerbaijan Navy commander Shahin Sultanov and Turkish Armed Forces attaché Seyhan Ceyhan . The activities aimed to ensure the safety of the Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan pipeline ( BTC ) , the main export pipeline to take Caspian oil to Turkey and further on to world markets , as well as on expanding cooperation between the two countries ’ military . The exercises started with the clearance of mines that ended up on the seabed . This was followed by rendering harmless the traps planted in the area by symbolic terrorists . The training concluded with the practice of a maritime and air operations . In 2007 an agreement between Azeri Navy and one of the US military companies was concluded , which stated that a part of the Azeri Navy would be equipped with advanced laser marksmanship device / system . The US company specialists were also to give training for the use of new equipment . Caspian Guard Initiative . The Caspian Guard Initiative is a framework program designed to coordinate activities in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan with those of U . S . Central Command and other U . S government agencies to enhance Caspian security . The initiative assists the two countries in improving their ability to prevent and , if needed , respond to terrorism , nuclear proliferation , drug and human trafficking , and other transnational threats in the Caspian region . EUCOM is responsible for operations in Azerbaijan .