Navantia launches Royal Moroccan Navy OPV in Cádiz

Navantia conducted a launch ceremony at its San Fernando shipyard in Cádiz on 27 May 2025 for the offshore patrol vessel (OPV) that the company has built for the Royal Moroccan Navy.

Based on Navantia’s Avante 1800 design, the OPV has a length of 87 m, a beam of 13 m, a full-load displacement of around 2,020 tonnes and will host a crew of 60. The Avante 1800 design is typically armed with a 76 mm main gun, two 25/30 mm secondary guns, surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles and a point defence missile system. The type also carries two rigid-hull inflatable boats and features a flight deck capable of accommodating a 10-tonne helicopter.

Navantia’s Moroccan OPV contract also includes a technical-logistical support package (spare parts, tools, and technical documentation), including technical training services for Royal Moroccan Navy personnel in Spain.

The president of Navantia, Ricardo Domínguez, emphasised that the programme represents “not only a construction milestone but also the strength of a collaboration that consolidates over time” and “testimony of the shared commitment between Spain and Morocco for security and technological excellence”. Domínguez thanked the work of the Navantia workforce and the collaborating industry in what he called an “enormous collective effort and commitment”.

The Royal Moroccan Navy awarded Navantia the contract to build the OPV in January 2021.