Spanish Shipbuilder Navantia Continues Construction of Moroccan Navy Patrol Boat

According to this rumor, Morocco would have suspended its contract for the construction of a patrol boat after the arrival of Brahim Ghali in April and the migration crisis in May. This is not the case, believes the site Defensa which assures that the company Navantia continues the construction process of the patrol boat ordered by Morocco. The studies have already been carried out and the calls for tenders for the purchase of materials have been launched within the required deadlines, specifies the same source, adding that the construction of the patrol boat will start once the engineering work is completed.

To read: Morocco Halts Naval Vessel Deal with Spain Amid Diplomatic Tensions

It was the then Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, who announced the news of the construction of a patrol boat for the benefit of Morocco, during a visit made on January 8 to the San Fernando shipyard. In detail, the contract provides for the design and construction of a high-altitude patrol boat. In April, Morocco launched a call for tenders for the construction of the patrol boat, to which Navantia participated.

To read: Spanish Shipbuilder Navantia to Deliver Advanced Patrol Vessel to Moroccan Navy

A team from the company then went to Morocco last August to study the technical and commercial aspects. Since then, Navantia has had regular contacts with the Moroccan Ministry of National Defense to gather all the technical specifications required by Morocco for the ship.

Navantia has already supplied patrol boats and a corvette to the Royal Moroccan Navy in the 1980s. The patrol boat under construction could be an OPV (Offshore Patrol Vessel) of the AVANTE 1400 type.