PN to formally commission BRP Tarlac Wednesday

From the Philippine News Agency (May 31): PN to formally commission BRP Tarlac Wednesday

The Philippine Navy (PN)'s largest and first ever strategic sealift vessel (SSV), the 7,300-gross ton BRP Tarlac (LD-601), will be formally commissioned at Pier 13, Manila South Harbor on Wednesday morning.

Incidentally, the PN is also celebrating its 118th founding anniversary on that day with the theme of "Protecting the Seas, Securing Our Future".

President Benigno S. Aquino III will be the occasion's guest-of-honor and speaker, PN spokesperson Capt. Lued Lincuna said.

BRP Tarlac arrived in the Philippines last May 14 after a five-day journey from PT PAL (Persero)'s shipyard in Surabaya which started on May 9.

The Philippines has a two SSV order with the Indonesian shipbuilder worth PHP3.8 billion.

She was formally presented to the public at Pier 13, Manila South Harbor last May 16.

BRP Tarlac will be assigned to the Philippine Fleet's Sealift Amphibious Force.

BRP Tarlac has an overall length of 120 meters,breadth of 21 meters, draft of five meters and carry a payload of 2,800 tons.

She has a cruising speed of 13 knots and maximum speed of 16 knots.

The ship has minimum operating range of 7,500 nautical miles.

Her sister-ship is expected to be delivered by May 2017.

The ship has a complement of 121 officers and enlisted personnel.

She can carry 500 troops, two rigid-hull inflatable boats, two landing craft units and three helicopters.

Also from BRP Tarlac, three former Royal Australian Navy landing craft heavies (LCHs) will also be commissioned into PN roster.

They will be named BRP Agta (LC-290), BRP Iwak (LC-289) and BRP Waray (LC-288), Lincuna said.

As per PN naming conventions, landing craft are named after indigenous people.

Lincuna said these three ships will be assign to the Sealift Amphibious Force of the Philippine Fleet.

These three LCHs were sold to the PN for friendship prices of PHP270 million.

The LCHs are former ships of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and identified as the HMAS Balikpapan (L-126), HMAS Wewak (L-130) and HMAS Betano (L-133).

They were offloaded to Liloan, Cebu last March 26.

The three are sisters to BRP Ivatan (AT-298) (formerly HMAS Tarakan (L-129) ) and BRP Batak (AT-299 (L-127)) (ex-HMAS Brunei () which were commissioned into PN service in Aug. 10, 2015.

The first two LCHs were donated by the Australian Government to the Philippines in November 2014.

"The acquisition of additional capabilities of our Navy further translates into offering better service to our maritime nation as we continue to protect our country, step up commitment for HADR and our continuing pledge to provide assistance to our Filipino people in all corners of the archipelago. These new assets are manifestations of our Navy’s optimum readiness to perform its tasks and the ability to adapt vis-a-vis the emergent operating environment," he added.

LCHs are an extremely versatile vessel, capable of moving large amounts of cargo, personnel and equipment from larger ships to shore.

A very shallow draft (two meters) allows these ships to deliver personnel and equipment to areas otherwise unreachable especially during HADR missions.

It is an all-welded twin-screw vessel, able to trans-ship cargo and supplies from ships lying offshore to water terminals or across the beach.

Maximum cargo load is governed by the load-fuel balance and varies between 140 and 180 tons.

A typical load of 175 ton gives the LCHs a range of 1,300 nautical miles, increasing to 2,280 nautical miles for a load of 150 tons.

Up to five shipping containers with HADR supplies and equipment can also be embarked.

LCHs have a draft of two meters, length of 44.5 meters, beam of 10.1 meters and displacement of 364 tons.

It has a speed to 10 to 13 knots and a range of 3,000 nautical miles and a crew of 15.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=890335