The Israel-bound submarine Rahav, scheduled to arrive in the Jewish state some six months after the Tanin submarine, is seen here conducting sea trials in off the coast of Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Credit: Ein Dahmer via Wikimedia Commons.

The Israel-bound submarine Rahav, scheduled to arrive in the Jewish state some six months after the Tanin submarine, is seen here conducting sea trials in off the coast of Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Credit: Ein Dahmer via Wikimedia Commons.

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel’s fourth submarine, the Dolphin-class INS Tanin, has departed Germany en route to Israel and is slated to anchor at the Haifa port on Sept. 23.

A team under the command of a lieutenant-colonel in Israel’s submarine fleet is manning the vessel on its 4,000-mile journey. When the Tanin is 270 miles off the coast of Haifa, the submarine is slated to pause at the site where Israel’s INS Dakar submarine sank in 1968, for a memorial ceremony for the Dakar crew. The Tanin will then pull into the Haifa port, where it will be welcomed in an official ceremony.

The anticipated arrival of the Tanin marks the culmination of a seven-year joint submarine project between Israel and Germany. A fifth submarine Israel purchased, the Rahav, is scheduled to arrive in Israel some six months after the Tanin.

In February 2013, then-Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak signed an agreement for the construction and delivery of a sixth submarine, which has yet to be named. It is slated for delivery in 2019.

The Dolphin-class submarine is considered a versatile vessel with varied capabilities that make it adaptable to different types of missions. A Dolphin-class submarine is 223 feet long and weighs 2,300 tons. It can dive 656 meters deep and costs around $500,000.

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