The 98 meters long SIGMA class frigate, the third frigate built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding for the Royal Moroccan Navy, left Vlissingen on the 22nd of May for her sea acceptance trials (SAT) in the North Sea, right on schedule as agreed in the contract.
During the SAT, an intensive program was carried out in which the platform as well as the sensor weapons and communications suite were extensively tested, to the full satisfaction of the Royal Moroccan Navy.
The tests were performed by representatives of the yard in close cooperation with representatives of the subcontractors, the Royal Moroccan Navy and the Royal Netherlands Navy.
The first SIGMA frigate was transferred to the Royal Moroccan Navy on 10 September 2011, the second on 10 March 2012. The third frigate is scheduled to be transferred in September 2012.
SIGMA:
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 Moroccan 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 , June 8, 2012; Image: Damen