On September 6, the Spanish Navantia Shipyard marked a significant milestone by laying the keel for the Royal Moroccan Navy’s Avante 1800 class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) at the San Fernando Shipyard.
The keel was laid on harrow number three of the San Fernando Shipyard, a crucial step in the construction of the Avante 1800 class OPV. This vessel will measure 87 meters in length and 13 meters in overall width, with a crew capacity of 60 personnel. The construction process is expected to require over one million hours of labor, involving both the shipyard and the participating sector.
A steel-cutting ceremony for the new OPV, which is based on Navantia’s Avante 1800 design, was held at the shipbuilder’s San Fernando shipyard in Cadiz, Spain, on 3 July.
The Avante 1800 class OPV is designed for long deployment periods at sea, emphasizing low operational and life cycle costs. The vessel’s systems are engineered to ensure high operability, maintainability, and reliability with a smaller crew. This design philosophy aligns with modern naval requirements for efficiency and sustainability.
The propulsion machinery uses a combined diesel and diesel (CODAD) arrangement comprising four MAN 175D main engines. Ship service power is provided by five Baudouin 6 M26.3 marine generator sets.
The relationship between Spain and Morocco has seen its share of challenges, including the 2002 dispute over the uninhabited Perejil Island which resulted in delays in the process. Despite such conflicts, both nations have worked towards improving collaboration in various sectors. A significant diplomatic breakthrough occurred in 2022 when Spain endorsed Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, leading to enhanced cooperation.
In 2023, Spain’s far-right political party Vox questioned the Spanish Congress of Deputies to determine the current manufacturing stage of the Avante 1800 boats.
The procurement of the OPV is backed by a $92 million loan from the Spanish bank Santander Group, formalized on August 31, 2022. This financial agreement supports the commercial contract between Morocco’s National Defence Administration and Navantia. The Royal Moroccan Navy initially expressed interest in Navantia’s OPV in early 2020, but negotiations were delayed due to political issues related to territorial waters.
In January 2021, Morocco signed a contract with Navantia for two Avante class OPVs, valued at approximately 260 million euros, including a maintenance agreement. The design of these vessels will be similar to the Buque de Vigilancia de Litoral (BVL) ordered by the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela in 2005.
The Avante 1800 class OPV will be equipped with 76 mm and 35 mm cannons, as well as 12.7 mm machine guns. The vessel will also support helicopter and small boat operations from its aft deck. These ships are versatile, capable of performing a wide range of missions including coastal surveillance, maritime traffic protection, health assistance, firefighting, pollution control, personnel and provisions transport, search and rescue operations, rapid intervention, frogmen support, surface defense, and passive electronic warfare.
The construction of the Avante 1800 class OPV is expected to generate one million hours of work for the shipyard and create 250 jobs over the next three and a half years. This project not only strengthens Morocco’s naval capabilities but also contributes significantly to the local economy and employment.
Navantia has previously supplied patrol boats and a corvette to the Royal Moroccan Navy in the eighties.
