Navantia Accelerates Construction of $140 Million Moroccan Navy Patrol Vessel

The Moroccan government has ordered an Avante 1800 patrol vessel from the Spanish shipbuilder Navantia for 130 million euros. In September 2022, the Moroccan Executive announced the signing of a 95 million euro loan with the Spanish bank Banco Santander to finance the construction of this patrol vessel, work on which began in early July 2023 at the San Fernando shipyard in Cadiz.

After cutting the steel plates, the keel of the patrol vessel was laid on slipway number 3 of the shipyard last September. The ship’s mast can already be seen, according to Defensa, specifying that the patrol vessel will have a full load weight of about 2,020 tons, a length of 87 meters, a width of 13 meters, and a draft of 4 meters.

The future Moroccan patrol vessel will have a large deck for helicopter or drone or UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System). It will also be equipped with two auxiliary semi-rigid boats or RHIBs (Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat). Thanks to its combined diesel and diesel propulsion system (CODAD), this warship equipped with four MAN 175D engines and five Baudouin 6 M26.3 generator sets can reach a maximum speed of 24 knots.

The Avante 1800 is a patrol vessel compatible with a 76 mm or 57 mm main gun, 25 or 30 mm Remote Controlled Weapon Stations (RCWS), as well as several types of missiles. It is the first patrol vessel built by Navantia for Morocco, after the corvette "Lieutenant-colonel Errahmani", delivered to the kingdom on March 28, 1983.