Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has laid the keel of the Royal Moroccan Navy’s new Avante 1800 offshore patrol vessel (OPV).
The keel was laid in a ceremony at Navantia’s San Fernando Shipyard last month. Construction of the 87 metre long patrol vessel will involve over a million man hours and around 1 100 jobs over a three-year period.
Navantia cut the first steel for the vessel in July 2023 under a contract announced in January 2021. It is being financed under a $92 million loan with Spanish multinational financial services provider Santander Group. The contract was years in the making, with Morocco expressing interest in early 2020 for two OPVs, but negotiations slowed after Morocco announced it was planning to expand its borders into Spanish territorial waters.
Navantia initially built four Avante vessels for the Spanish Navy (Avante 3000) and four of each class for the Venezuelan Navy (Avante 2200 and Avante 1400). The ships are able to carry out a wide variety of missions such as coastal surveillance and protection, protection of maritime traffic, health assistance to other ships, external firefighting, the fight and control of marine pollution, transport of personnel and provisions, search and rescue operations, rapid intervention, frogmen support, surface defence and passive electronic warfare.
Morocco’s new Avante 1800 (565) will be delivered in mid-2026. It will have a beam of 13 metres, draught of 4 metres, full load displacement of 2 020 tonnes, and be able to reach a maximum speed of 24 knots. Crew complement will be 60.
The original design includes a 76 mm cannon, missile launch system, modern sensors and radars, as well as a helipad.
The contract with Morocco also includes a technical-logistical support package (spare parts, tools and technical documentation), including technical training services for the Royal Moroccan Navy in Spain.
“The patrol vessel is a solution that ensures long periods of deployment at sea with very low operating and life-cycle costs. To this end, the design of its systems aims to maintain operability, maintainability and reliability with a reduced crew,” Navantia said.
