MOROCCO TO RECEIVE OCEANOGRAPHIC AND FISHERY RESEARCH VESSEL

Morocco proceeded on Friday to one of the last steps related to the acquisition of a new oceanographic and fishery research vessel, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests announced.

This measure touches on the provisional acceptance of the vessel at the Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding Tamano Shipyard in Okoyama, Japan, the ministry said in a statement, stressing that this state-of-the-art vessel is intended to be a floating laboratory for ocean observation and exploration.

The acquisition of this vessel is one of the major orientations of the Halieutis Plan which makes strengthening of fisheries research one of its main objectives, the same source added.

Developing a research fleet in accordance with international standards will allow Morocco to strengthen its scientific knowledge in the areas of fisheries and marine sciences thanks to scientific prospecting campaigns at sea.

This fleet will also allow the monitoring and collection of information on the marine environment to develop scientific knowledge in this area, said the Ministry.

The construction of an oceanographic vessel for the benefit of the National Institute of Fisheries Research (INRH) is part of the historic partnership between Morocco and Japan in the area of fisheries.

The two parties concluded in January 2017 a loan agreement, totaling MAD 480 million at a preferential rate, to finance this project. In July 2018, the parties selected the shipyard that will be in charge of the construction of the new vessel in Japan.