Royal Saudi Naval Forces received Thursday His Majesty’s Ship “Al-Jubail”, in the presence of Chief of General Staff, General Fayyad bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili (photo), at the King Faisal Naval Base in the Western Fleet, arriving from Navantia’s manufacturing headquarters in Spain.

The Naval Forces held an official reception for His Majesty’s ship “Al Jubail”, the first ship to enter service from the “Sarawat Project”, which includes the manufacture and construction of five naval vessels with advanced capabilities to deal with various combat missions with high capacity and efficiency, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The His Majesty’s Ship Al-Jubail (Corvette Avante 2200), is the latest of its type in the world, with capabilities of handling air, surface, or subsurface targets.

During the reception ceremony, the Chief of the General Staff boarded the ship, toured its various sections, and inspected its modern and high-tech equipment, before writing a note in the ship’s log.

Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces Lieutenant General Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Ghufaili described the arrival and reception of His Majesty's Ship Al-Jubail as a “historical moment” where the Saudi Armed Forces in general, and the Naval Forces in particular, are proud of defending the borders of the homeland.

“Receiving the ship is a great and historic occasion, and it is the first vessel of the Sarawat project, which we will soon celebrate receiving successively,” he said.

“arrival of the ship came after its construction took nearly four years, and the completion of several stages, starting with laying the keel to mark the start of its construction at the Navantia shipyard in the Spanish city of San Fernando; then floating the ship; passing the quality control tests in the port and at sea, leading to the inauguration stage, the conclusion of the training program for the ship’s crew, and ending with preparation to sail to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he noted.