On Friday 23 December, HM King Mohammed VI, Supreme Commander and Chief of Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, officially commissioned the most recent acquired SIGMA Frigate ‘Tarik Ben Ziyad’ for the Moroccan Royal Navy. The 105 meter long SIGMA Frigate, built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding, was transferred to the Royal Navy in September 2011.
After 21 welcoming salutes from a Moroccan patrol ship, HM the King visited the various facilities on board of the SIGMA multi-mission frigate.
Accompanied by several military and civilian dignitaries, including the CEO of Damen Shipyards Group , René Berkvens , Commander Royal Netherlands Navy, Vice Admiral Matthieu Borsboom and Ambassador Jos van Aggelen , HM the King was briefed by several members of the crew on the state of the art characteristics and operational capabilities of the new multi mission frigate. After his visit, HM the King traditionally signed the guestbook on board.
SIGMA capabilities:
The three SIGMA-class frigates for the Royal Moroccan Navy have been designed according to Schelde Naval Shipbuilding’s revolutionary SIGMA-approach and are a further development of the SIGMA-corvettes for the Indonesian Navy. The SIGMA approach applies modularity in many areas.
The Royal Moroccan Navy SIGMA Class frigates are equipped to conduct the traditional naval tasks as well as maritime security operations. The vessels are also suited to support humanitarian aid operations.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , January 09, 2012; Image: damen