Spain finalises handover of patrol vessel to Morocco amid Ceuta tensions

Navantia, Spain’s state shipbuilder, is preparing to deliver an Avante 1800 patrol vessel—87 metres long, capable of 24 knots and a 4,000-nautical-mile range—to the Royal Moroccan Navy. Named Moulay Hassan, the ship was constructed at the San Fernando yard, with keel laying in September 2024 and launch in May 2025, and is designed for maritime monitoring, security, and rescue missions. The delivery occurs amid a diplomatic flare-up after a massive breach of Ceuta’s border in April, an event for which Spanish intelligence reports say Morocco was warned but did not act, and Moroccan security forces were identified as key facilitators.

The vessel will be handed over unarmed, with Morocco responsible for fitting any weapons systems. The contract, announced in early 2021 by María Jesús Montero, was supported by the Spanish government and financed in part by a loan from Banco Santander to Morocco.