The Diplomat
Navantia launched yesterday in San Fernando the fourth of the five corvettes it is building at the Bahía de Cádiz shipyard for the Royal Saudi Arabian Navy (RSNF), and which bears the name JAZAN, in homage to this city in the southwest of the country.
The JAZAN corvette is the fourth of the five that make up the Avante 2200 programme. It has a length of 104 metres, a beam of 14 metres and will be capable of carrying a total of 102 crew and passengers.
The ceremony, held at the San Fernando shipyard, was attended by the Commander of the Royal Saudi Navy, Vice Admiral Fahad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofaily; the Admiral Chief of Staff of the Navy (AJEMA), Admiral General Antonio Martorell Lacave; the president of the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), Belén Gualda; the president of Navantia, Ricardo Domínguez; the vice-president of Saudi Arabia Military Industries (SAMI), Wael Alsarhan, representing the CEO of the company, Walid Abukhaled, who attended the event telematically, and the mayoress of San Fernando, Patricia Cavada. The launching ceremony took place under sanitary safety measures.
The event began with a reading from the Koran, followed by the projection of several videos about the city of Jazan (after which the ship is named), about the Avante 2200 programme and about the construction of this fourth corvette. José Antonio Rodriguez Poch, the shipyard’s director and head of Navantia’s Defence Department in the Bay, was in charge of welcoming the guests.
At the ceremony, the president of Navantia, Ricardo Domínguez, underlined Navantia’s commitment to this programme, which he described as “strategic” for the company, and to Saudi Arabia: “They can count on Navantia as a reliable partner for the maintenance of the ships in their life cycle and for future opportunities”, he said.
Ricardo Domínguez highlighted the investments that Navantia is undertaking to digitalise and introduce new technologies at the shipyard to make it “more efficient” and “build ships in less time and with higher quality”. He also welcomed the Saudi crews who have begun their training at the recently inaugurated Navantia Training Centre (NTC), which has state-of-the-art technological equipment.
He also thanked the Spanish Navy, the Royal Saudi Navy and the Ministries of Defence of both countries for their “valuable collaboration in making the programme a success”, as well as the programme teams and workers for their efforts. “Your dedication, knowledge and good work allow us to proclaim with satisfaction that Navantia is fulfilling its commitments. This fourth ship, which will soon be at the disposal of the client, will be another proof of the good work of this shipyard, of which we should feel very proud”, he affirmed.
For his part, the AJEMA, Admiral General Antonio Martorell Lacave, underlined that the corvette “is an unequivocal demonstration of Spain’s industrial capacity in the field of shipbuilding and its strong commitment to technological innovation”.
Admiral Martorell Lacave thanked Vice Admiral Al-Ghofaily and the entire Royal Saudi Navy “for the trust placed in the Spanish Navy to supervise the execution of this ambitious and pioneering naval programme”, stressing that “this is the first time that the Spanish Navy has embarked on such a far-reaching naval programme”.
The Commander of the Royal Saudi Navy highlighted the importance of the ALSARAWAT (Avante 2200) project, “one of the most important procurement programmes and a clear indicator of the Royal Saudi Navy’s commitment to its ambitious goal of developing a new era of innovative and cutting-edge capabilities aligned with the Kingdom’s strategic Vision 2030”.
He also stressed that the launch of the JAZAN corvette, the fourth launched in a year, is a significant achievement that amply demonstrates Navantia’s commitment to the programme and noted that the success of the programme will establish a solid foundation for the strategic partnership with Navantia. Vice Admiral Fahad Al-Ghofaily also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to AJEMA for the significant support the Spanish Navy has provided to the project.
SAMI’s CEO, through the company’s Vice President, stressed that SAMI is “proud of its strategic partnership with RSNF and Navantia”. “The launching of JAZAN, the fourth of the five Avante 2200 corvettes, will reinforce the capabilities of the RSNF fleet, demonstrating the strong interest in the naval industries sector and the commitment to develop its new systems and requirements,” he said.
The ceremony concluded with the cutting of the ribbon by Vice Admiral Fahad Bin Abdullah Al-Ghofaily, whereupon the corvette JAZAN, after receiving the impact of the water bottle from Mecca, slid down the slipway to touch water for the first time. Work on the corvette will continue in the water until its delivery, scheduled for April 2023.
During his visit, Commander Al-Ghofaily visited the San Fernando shipyard and the Navantia Training Centre (NTC), a centre equipped with the latest technology where the sailors and maintainers of the corvettes are receiving training. He also visited the Land Based Training Site (LBTS) and the simulators, and the Technology Transfer (ToT) programme that forms part of the construction of the corvettes.
The contract with Atabia Saudi has been in force since November 2019 and involves an overall workload of around seven million hours which, translated into employment, will reach the figure of 6,000 annually over the next 5 years. Of these, more than 1,100 will be direct employees, more than 1,800 employees from Navantia’s Auxiliary Industry and more than 3,000 indirect employees generated by other suppliers. More than 100 auxiliary companies will collaborate in the programme.
The Avante 2200 programme, whose last ship is due to be delivered in 2024, includes, in addition to the construction, Life Cycle Support for five years from the delivery of the first ship, with an option for a further five years.
