At the docking line of the Las Palmas Naval Base, the Castilla emerges—a gray giant of 160 meters in length, 25 meters in beam, and 17 meters in height, which can be visited these days during the static exhibition organized for Armed Forces Day, celebrated this year between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This impressive military ship will also participate in Friday’s air-sea parade where King Felipe VI will inspect the fleet, and in the dynamic exhibition that will take place later at Las Alcaravaneras beach, demonstrating to the public and the sovereign its great capacity for landings.
The Castilla is an amphibious assault ship designed to allow up to two helicopters to land on its deck simultaneously. It can carry four helicopters in the hangar and has 3,500 square meters for vehicles and a dock for four landing craft. In total, it can handle up to 700 tons of cargo.
Coastal Landings
When the crew, part of the Spanish Navy fleet, opens the rear gates, the bottom floods so that the boats stored in the dock can exit. Its shallow draft of just six meters allows it to approach the coast for land troops to disembark with combat vehicles or on foot in the interventions they participate in.
Aboard the ship, 195 people work under the leadership of Commander David Díaz-Caneja, although it can accommodate up to 767 when needed, explaining the spacious areas like the common dining room and kitchen. Additionally, it has nine machine guns and six missile defense launchers among other armament, and radars for air, surface, and navigation exploration, and helicopter control.
Training
The Castilla is one of the midshipmen training ships enhancing maritime training for future naval officers and aims to introduce the public to the work of the Armed Forces through visits to various Spanish ports, including those of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Lieutenant Ángela Navarro is a crew member. At 28, she has served five years in the Navy, the last of which was aboard the Castilla as provisioning and public information officer. She also handles helicopter control and other duties. Her vocation was early, initially opting to study Business Administration and Management. “Since childhood,” she was drawn to the military world and eventually chose the Navy. “In the end, the world of ships was unknown, before entering here I didn’t know it, and I am very happy to have chosen this branch.”
Guided Visits
This week, those interested can board this ship, the twelfth vessel of the ‘Galicia’ class as the Spanish Navy defines these amphibious assault ships, accompanied by crew members, though not all spaces will be available for visits due to security and operational reasons.
The ship can be visited on Thursday and Saturday from 10:00 to 20:00, on Friday, from 10:00 to 13:30, and on Sunday, from 10:00 to 14:00. To see it in action, it’s best to go to Avenida Marítima on Friday after 16:00 to witness its approach to Las Alcaravaneras beach for a landing demonstration.
Preparations for the exhibition and display.
Built at the Galician shipyard Izar, now called Navantia, in 1997 and launched in June 1999, the Castilla has participated in numerous missions, including “peacekeeping and humanitarian aid operations, providing medical and surgical support in natural disasters,” as reported by the ship’s team.
Its “enhanced command and control capability” currently allows Castilla to serve as an alternate command ship for the High Availability Maritime Headquarters in NATO maritime operations.
Among its missions, the Navy highlights its participation in the ‘Operation Romeo Sierra’ to evacuate Perejil Island in 2002, collaboration in the cleanup after the Prestige oil spill in 2003, transportation of Legion materials to Ash Shuahyabah Port, UAE, under Operation IF in 2003, or humanitarian aid missions in Haiti in 2004 and 2010.
It has also been part of Operation Atalanta to combat piracy off the Somali coast, ensuring maritime security in Indian Ocean waters in 2012, 2018, and 2021, and collaborated in transporting La Palma farmers alongside the Naval Beach Group after the Cumbre Vieja volcano eruption.
