The Philippines '
first strategic sealift vessel (SSV) will be officially launched on Jan. 17 at
the PT PAL (Persero) shipyard in Surabaya ,
Indonesia
"We just got word from the Navy that the strategic
sealift vessel, one of two that we have ordered from Indonesia
Padilla said ranking Philippine defense and military
officials will be present during the launching of the first SSV.
"Why are we relaying this news? The acquisition of the
SSV is a very important milestone for our Navy, and will increase our
capacities for humanitarian assistance and disaster response during critical
moments when we are hit by increasingly growing storms in this part of the
world," Padilla pointed out.
He added the SSV will give the Navy the capability to
transport en masse sizeable number of relief and human assistance and disaster
response personnel in critical areas that may be hit by disasters.
"Another, it's a standalone command-and-control ship
that can coordinate rescue, recovery, and retrieval efforts during disasters,
as well as along with the bulk of goods and relief items that can be provided
to our citizens. The other one is the ability for this ship to be used as a
floating hospital, in case many of our health centers and hospitals in
provincial areas that may be affected by disasters become unavailable,"
Padilla said.
The first SSV will arrive in the country by May while the
second will be delivered in May 2017.
The Philippines
The SSV acquisition project for the PN was initiated upon
the approval of Acquisition Decision Memorandum Number 2012-060 by Defense
Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Oct. 30, 2013.
The Department of National Defense declared Persero as the
Single Calculated Responsive Bidder with a bidding price of PhP3,870,000,000 on
Nov. 18, 2014.
The SSVs are programmed to be the PN’s floating command
center carrying out their main purpose as military sealift and transport
vessels and also for humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
Further, these vessels are critical assets for
civil-military operations due to their capability of transporting large number
of soldiers, logistics, and supplies.
Moreover, each SSV has the capacity to house three
helicopters. The Navy’s Augusta Westland-109s are programmed to be on-board
components of these vessels.
These forthcoming landing platform dock strategic sealift
vessels will improve the transport capability of the PN and boost the defense
capabilities of the country.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=847015
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