Morocco’s Royal Gendarmerie Receives Four ‘Metal Shark’ Patrol Boats

Rabat – The American company Metal Shark has sent four new “52 Fearless Super Interceptor” model boats to the Moroccan Royal Gendarmerie, increasing the total number of these lightning-fast boats to fifteen.

The information surfaced on Defence Web, a publication specializing in military and security issues in Africa.

Considered to be the scourge of all traffickers, the value of these speedboats stands at $970,000. The last four boats were delivered in October 2023, while the fifth unit is said to have been supplied earlier to the Moroccan authorities.

In a recent statement to the local media, military analyst Abdelhamid Harifi explained that these “high-speed launches” have been deployed mainly in the northern maritime zone “in order to combat organized crime in the maritime domain, particularly illegal immigration and trafficking.”

According to the American company, the “52 Fearless Super Interceptor” was created in response to the growing demand from military operators for larger, faster interceptor vessels. This type of vessel offers greater range and an effective response to the sophisticated means employed by traffickers on the high seas.

The vessel reaches maximum speeds of 70 knots (almost 130 km/h) and can maintain a cruising speed of 50 knots for over 12 hours, according to its manufacturer.

With a displacement capacity of up to eight tons, the 17.5-meter-long boats are propelled by two 1650 horsepower internal diesel engines.

In addition to these deliveries, as part of the larger military cooperation between Morocco and the US, the Royal Moroccan Navy received eleven of these crafts at the start of 2022.

In March of that year, the navy also received two Metal Shark Defiant crafts from the US as part of the continued effort to combat illegal trafficking in local waterways.