The officer in charge of the forces at the Haven of Umbar. In the time of Steward Ecthelion II (just under forty years before joining the Fellowship of the Ring) Aragorn in his guise as Thorongil led a small fleet southward from Gondor to Umbar and mounted a devastating surprise raid, setting fire to many of the Corsairs' vessels. The response to this raid was led by the unnamed Captain of the Haven, who fought with Aragorn on the quays of his port. Aragorn had the victory, and the Captain met his fate1 on the dockside of Umbar.
We know almost nothing about the military organisation of the Corsairs of Umbar, but it would be reasonable to assume that there were other Captains of the Haven preceding the one defeated by Aragorn. For that matter, another Captain was presumably appointed after the Gondorian attack. The Corsairs had held Umbar intermittently from III 1448, and the title might in principle run that far back into history. Indeed, conceivably the title 'Captain of the Haven' was not merely a military rank, but was given to the leader of the Corsairs as a whole (which would help to explain the evident significance of his defeat by Thorongil).
Notes
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The Captain of the Haven was presumably killed in that conflict, but that isn't actually stated categorically. Instead, we're only told (in Appendix A I (iv) to The Lord of the Rings) that Aragorn 'overthrew' the Captain, a form of wording that is open to interpretation.
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- Updated 4 January 2022
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