US transfers two ‘Metal Shark’ interceptor boats to Royal Moroccan Navy

The United States has transferred to the Royal Moroccan Navy two 11-meter “Metal Shark” interceptor boats.

The transfer ceremony took place at the port of Agadir on Thursday, on the sidelines of the final planning event for African Lion 2022, AFRICOM’s premier military exercise – the largest on the African continent, held annually in partnership between the USA and Morocco.

“Today’s handover ceremony is yet another milestone in the strong security partnership between our two countries, focused on maintaining regional peace and stability,” Lt. Col. Teremuura Shamel, Chief of the Security Cooperation Office at the U.S. Embassy in Morocco, said. “Our two navies have a long history of working together to secure the high seas, and especially the short 13 kilometres of the Strait of Gibraltar, against crime, terrorism, drug smuggling and human trafficking. These issues do not respect international borders and require collaboration to combat them effectively,” he said.

The two boats, valued at $970,000, are aimed at enhancing the Royal Moroccan Navy’s capacity to stop illicit trafficking in regional waters and are part of the broader military partnership between Morocco and the United States, said a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Morocco.

High-level officials from the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces and their American counterparts met at the FAR’s southern zone headquarters, to discuss preparations for African Lion 2022, which will take place across the Kingdom in the second half of June, the statement said.

Portions of the exercise will also take place in Tunisia, Senegal, and Ghana. The 2021 exercise was the largest since the annual training event started in 2004, with more than 7,000 participants from nine nations and NATO.

“AL22 is the premiere joint multinational exercise in the AFRICOM area of responsibility,” Lt. Col. Shamel said, stressing that “it demonstrates our long-term commitment to Morocco – and all of Africa – in recognition of the continent’s strategic importance to the United States”.

The boat transfer and African Lion planning event follow high-level staff talks last month in Casablanca, involving leadership of the U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/Sixth Fleet and the Royal Moroccan Navy, focused on future maritime interoperability and the strengthening of bilateral relationship, the statement noted.

In recent weeks, Moroccan military personnel have been participating in the latest round of ongoing Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) training, organized by the U.S. Marines and Utah National Guard, said the US Embassy.

Morocco is a critical U.S. ally on a range of security issues. It participates with the United States in more than 100 military exercises and events annually, including multilateral and bilateral exercises such as African Lion, Obangame Express, Phoenix Express, Lightening Handshake and Atlas Handshake.

In October of 2020, the two countries signed a ten-year “Roadmap for Defense Cooperation” that guides cooperation in priority areas, including bolstering the Royal Moroccan Navy’s coastal radar and surveillance capabilities to advance regional maritime security, the statement said.