Cyclone Nargis hit Burma’s Panmawaddy Navy Base on Hainggyi Island at the mouth of the Bassein River, destroying military buildings and a reconnaissance station, according to navy sources.

Burma’s navy chief, Admiral Soe Thein, on Monday toured various sites on Hainggyi Island, according to the state-run The New Light of Myanmar.

No figures were given for naval personnel dead or injured, or the number of family members dead or injured. And unknown number of personnel and family members are reportedly missing.

The Hainggyi Island naval base major played a strategically important role in patrolling the rivers of the Irrawaddy delta and guarding the Coco Islands, the site of a Chinese signal intelligence unit that monitors ship movement in the eastern Indian Ocean, especially shipping routes between the Bay of Bengal and the Strait of Malacca.

The Hainggyi Island navy base was established in the early 1990s with Chinese military assistance to provide security for Great Coco Island and Little Coco Island, just north of the Indian-held Andaman Islands, where the electronic intelligence stations are located.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, a sergeant with the No1 Strategic Naval Force (Sit Byu Ha Yay Yin) in Rangoon said the cyclone swept over the Panmawaddy naval command where more than 1,500 Burmese navy personnel were stationed. About 2,000 family members also lived on the island, he said.

No 26 Naval Flotilla and No 27 Training Unit were extensively damaged by the Category 3 storm, according to the source. No 21 Naval Administrative Unit, No 22 Naval Support Unit and No 24 Naval Ordnance Unit were also damaged.

The vessels at the Panmawaddy Naval base are grouped under the No 2 Strategic Naval Force (Sit Bu Ha Yay Yin Su 2).

A former navy officer who was previously stationed at the Irrawaddy Naval base in Rangoon said the cyclone damaged the main navy dockyard there, where facilities include ship repair. The area is also the home of a navy ordnance company at Thilawah in Thanlyin Township, where virtually all naval ordnance is stored. The Naval Training Centre at Thanlyin, across the Pegu River from Rangoon, was also damaged.

When the military seized power in 1988, the junta embarked on a major upgrade of navy forces, which included the development of existing bases at Sittwe near the Bangladeshi border and at Mergui near the Thai border.

The Burmese navy was formed in 1940 and played a small, but active role in Allied operations against the Japanese during World War II. The navy played a key role in the government’s fight against ethnic insurgent groups and the Burma Communist Party in the delta area.

In addition, the navy performs surveillance activities, such as monitoring fish poaching, smuggling, insurgent movements and pirate activities. Burma’s navy is made up of Chinese and North Korean built ships.