Various trials are now ongoing to ensure that the country's
first strategic sealift vessel (SSV), the prospective BRP Tarlac (LD-601), will
be ready for its journey to the Philippines
Trials include testing of its propulsion and engine systems
in various speed setting, said Philippine Navy (PN) public affairs office chief
Capt. Lued Lincuna.
These tests are being conducted by personnel of PT PAL
(Persero), the Surabaya-based Indonesian shipbuilder which won the the
Php3.87-billion contract for the two SSV project.
Another round of tests will be conducted by PN personnel,
tasked to man the ship, once the latter arrived in Indonesia
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 Php3.87 billion 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.
The ships are estimated to weigh about 7,300 gross register
tons.
Furthermore, 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=859536
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