Marruecos adquirirá el buque de guerra español AVANTE 1800
The Royal Moroccan Navy will integrate a new Spanish warship, the AVANTE 1800, into its fleet, as confirmed by the Presidency of the Spanish Government. It is a large ship that will become part of the Moroccan Navy and will be used for surveillance tasks.
The announcement of the acquisition of this vessel by the North African country was made by María Jesús Montero, the Spanish Minister of Finance, in January 2021. After three years of manufacture by the Spanish company Navantia, Morocco has finally taken the step to purchase the main equipment for the AVANTE 1800 corvette.
Spain presented this model of vessel at the DIMDEX trade fair in Qatar in 2014 with the intention that it would be acquired by the Qatari Navy through an order for four of these models. This AVANTE 1800 version has a length of 89.90 metres, a beam of 13.20 metres and a displacement of 1,900 tonnes, reaching a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 3,000 nautical miles with an operating range of 21 days. It also has a capacity for a crew of 46 people. The 76 mm main gun can be seen forward and behind it the cells of a vertical missile launching system, two quadruple anti-ship missile launchers, a three-dimensional surveillance radar and a short-range anti-aircraft missile launcher above the helicopter hangar. The slim design with no protrusions and the integrated mast suggests a low radar signature design. The flight deck can accommodate a medium NH-90 helicopter, satellite communications systems and two RHIB rigid-hulled inflatable boats, as reported by defence.com.
According to Hespress, the Spanish government pointed out that the contract it has signed with Morocco is strategic and sovereign, all within the framework of good relations between neighbouring and allied countries that share common interests on both shores of the Mediterranean, such as the control of migratory flows and surveillance, including the fight against drug trafficking and extremist terrorism. The Spanish government also stated with respect to the AVANTE 1800 corvette that "the design and development of the warship are at an advanced stage, with state-of-the-art equipment and the most advanced systems"; it also added that a contract is in force to be completed with the Navantia company with a view to supplying the Moroccan Navy.
According to Hespress and other media such as Voz Pópuli, the Moroccan government requested a loan from a Spanish bank to finance the Royal Navy's arms contracts, in order to fulfil the contract signed between the Moroccan kingdom, through the Ministry of National Defence Management, and the Spanish company Navantia, which specialises in the manufacture of military vessels, for the acquisition of this ship, which is valued at around 130 million euros. According to the same information, the loan requested would be around 90 million euros.
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In this way, the purchase of this ship was reactivated last October, when it had already been announced for January 2021. This was paralysed by the diplomatic crisis unleashed between Morocco and Spain as a result of the reception on Spanish territory of Brahim Ghali, leader of the Polisario Front. The North African country requested explanations for the lack of information and cooperation regarding the entry of the Polisario leader into Spain in April 2021 to be treated in a hospital in Logroño for a serious respiratory condition. The Spanish government argued humanitarian reasons, but this did not satisfy the Moroccan authorities and distorted a diplomatic relationship that had gone through other tense episodes such as the irregular entry of thousands of Moroccan migrants into Ceuta and the withdrawal of the Moroccan ambassador from Madrid. Spain tried to redirect the situation with gestures such as those made by King Felipe VI with messages of rapprochement with the Kingdom, or the appointment as Foreign Minister of José Manuel Albares, replacing Arancha González Laya, who was marked by the Ghali case.
The definitive step towards the recovery of a normal and positive diplomatic relationship was the decision of Pedro Sánchez's government to recognise Morocco's proposal for Western Sahara as the most 'serious, credible and realistic' way of resolving the Sahrawi conflict, which has lasted more than four decades. The North African country proposes a formula of broad autonomy for the territory under Moroccan sovereignty, respecting the resolutions of the United Nations.
This initiative has received significant support from the United States, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Spain itself, in contrast to the Polisario Front's plan, which involves holding a referendum on independence for the Sahrawi people, which is very difficult to achieve, as various analysts and experts have pointed out. The Polisario formula has less relevant support at the international level, including that of Algeria, Morocco's great political rival in the Maghreb, with which it has major political differences that led the Algerian regime to break diplomatic relations with its neighbour in August 2021.
