Morocco Expands Naval Capabilities with New Patrol Vessel from Spain’s Navantia

The patrol vessel under construction will be 87 meters long and 13 meters wide, with a capacity to accommodate 60 people, including 46 crew members and 12 additional personnel. The military ship will also be able to transport two RHIB fast boats and will have a helipad. At full load, i.e. 2,020 tons, the patrol vessel, which will be equipped with four main MAN 175D engines and five Baudouin 6 M26.3 marine generator sets, will be able to reach 24 knots.

With this order for a patrol vessel, Morocco is seeking to strengthen the capabilities of its Royal Navy, which has been neglected in recent years in favor of the Royal Air Force, which has benefited from drones, air defense systems and various weapons, analyzes La Razón. The Moroccan Navy has the frigate Mohammed VI of the Fremm class, received on January 30, 2014, three Sigma class frigates (Tarik Ben Ziyad, Sultan Moulay Ismaïl and Allal Ben Abdellah) and the frigates Mohammed V and Hassan II, of the Floresal class, launched in 2002 and 2003.

It also has the corvette named Lieutenant Colonel Errahmani, of the Discover class, 22 patrol boats and three BATRAL landing craft for the transport of troops and equipment. On the other hand, Morocco does not have any submarines. The kingdom is interested in the French Scorpène, the Russian Amur or the Spanish S-80, but has not yet been able to materialize its intentions. A Spanish army captain stated in an article published in 2018 that "the presence of a single Moroccan submarine operating in the Mediterranean would radically change the entire defense strategy of the area".

What about the Spanish navy? It has two amphibious ships BAA Galicia and BAA Castilla, two logistics ships, six maritime action ships (BAM), six mine warfare ships of the Segura class and 11 frigates including 6 of the modern F-110 class, and 5 of the F-100 class. The Spanish navy also has 12 patrol boats and three submarines: the S-70, the S-71 Galerna and the S-81 Isaac Peral, in the testing phase. Spain is also working on the modernization of its F-110 frigates and the construction of six new corvettes.