THE HAGUE — Dutch shipbuilder Schelde Shipbuilding has agreed to build three SIGMA-class corvettes for the Moroccan navy, the Dutch daily Provinciaal Zeeuwse Krant reported on its Web site Feb. 9.

The new order is worth more than half a billion euros (over $73 million) and will mean five years of work for hundreds of extra employees at Schelde, the paper said.

Schelde Shipbuilding’s Web site said the corvettes “are equipped with a comprehensive combat and communication suit fitted on a spacious platform accommodating 80 people, a large helicopter deck and a twin-screw diesel propulsion.”

The ships are “perfectly suited for maritime search and patrol operations,” they added