Tunisia Unveils New Navy Frigate

     Tunisia has unveiled its new frigate 'Istiqlal' to the media -- the first such patroller built in its entirety in the country by the Tunisian navy.


The 27-metre long patroller was designed by naval academy students and experts, with the project beginning in 2012 and requiring 90,000 hour sof work.

Commander Makram Touzri is the naval architect who was in charge of the project.

The design of this marine artefact was based on final year projects and research units of the navy academy and the work of the electronic and mechanical research departments," he said.

The design plans were executed by the Tunisian Ministry of Defence in collaboration with a private comapny SCIN.

This is the first accomplishment not only in Tunisia, but in Africa, with the exception of South Africa. This establishes an important point. First of all, Tunisian youth in the Ministry of Defence are capable of achieving the impossible. Second, this is a successful partnership and the first one between the public and the private sector," said Minister of Defence Farhat Horchani.

The ship cost some 40 per cent less than similar vessels on the international market, according to officials.

We aim to develop the military industry in Tunisia, since we are used to importing military equipment. We want to help create new jobs opportunities for our civilian partners. Today we produce a patroller ship, tomorrow, why not equipment for the army, the air force or the joint services. This gives us the ability to not depend on other countries, during hard and strategic times, to be self-sufficient for our military industry," said Captain Zouhayr al Joundli.

He went onto explain the symbolism of the ship's name - 'Istiqlal' or 'independence'.

Istiqlal (Independence) was named after the first ship that we bought, that we was given by the French navy after independence. Above all, we aspire for it to be the symbol of independence in the marine industry, since it is the first patroller made in Tunisia," he said.