100 crew members of PN's 2nd SSV now undergoing training

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 20): 100 crew members of PN's 2nd SSV now undergoing training

Around 100 enlisted personnel and officers are now undergoing training on the various systems of the country's second strategic sealift vessel (SSV), the BRP Davao Del Sur (LD-602), which is now nearing completion at the shipyard of contractor PT PAL (Persero) in Surabaya, Indonesia.

These naval military personnel are now being trained shipboard training to ensure that they are capable of sailing the ship home by second week of May, Philippine Navy spokesperson Capt. Lued Lincuna said in an interview with the PNA Monday.

"About 100 of the ship's crew are now undergoing their shipboard and depot level maintenance training," he added.

After these exercises, Lincuna said the Filipino crew will then subject BRP Davao Del Sur to a series of machinery and equipment to ensure she is capable of putting out to sea.

"After all those checks, she will be subjected to a series of dock trials, sea trials and endurance run (to determine her seaworthiness)," he added.

As of this posting, the BRP Davao Del Sur is 98 percent completed.

The BRP Davao Del Sur was launched last Sept. 29. She is the sister ship of the BRP Tarlac (LD-601), currently the largest Filipino warship in commissioned.

BRP Tarlac was commissioned during short ceremonies at Pier 13, Manila South Harbor last June 1.

She arrived in the Philippines last May 14 after a five-day journey from PT PAL shipyard in Surabaya which started on May 9.

BRP Davao Del Sur is also a Makassar-class landing platform dock like her sister ship BRP Tarlac.

Its delivery to the Philippines, is tentatively scheduled this coming May, will complete the two-unit SSV procurement project with an approved budget contract of PHP4 billion sourced from the AFP Modernization Act Trust Fund.

Just like the BRP Tarlac, the PN's latest SSV will serve as a floating command-and-control ship especially in the conduct of humanitarian assistance and disaster response and will also serve as a military sealift and transport vessel.

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

She has a cruising speed of 13 knots and maximum speed of 16 knots and a minimum operating range of 7,500 nautical miles.

BRP Davao Del Sur can carry 500 troops, two rigid-hull inflatable boats, two landing craft units and three helicopters.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=973112