The Philippine Navy will commission four additional vessels on Wednesday, boosting its capability to secure the country’s vast maritime domains.
The new ships are the brand new landing dock vessel and the biggest ship to date, the Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas (BRP) Tarlac (LD 601), and the three newly acquired landing craft heavy vessels from Australia, the Philippine Navy said on Tuesday.
READ: PH Navy welcomes its biggest vessel to date
The BRP Tarlac can transport a battalion size of troops aside from the 121 personnel onboard, two rigid-hill inflatable boats, landing craft units and three helicopters. It is one of the two vessels acquired by the Philippines from PT PAL in Indonesia at P3.8 billion.
The ships from Australia will be named BRP Waray (LC 288), BRP Iwak (LC 289) and BRP Agta (LC 290). The three were acquired for P270 million.
The Royal Australian Navy donated two ships of the same type last November 2014. The landing craft heavy ships are capable of transporting large amounts of cargo and personnel and is ideal for humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions.
READ: 2 ships donated by Australia arrive in PH
The commissioning and christening of the newly acquired ships will coincide with the Philippine Navy’s 118th anniversary in South Harbor, Manila. President Benigno Aquino III will be the guest of honor and speaker.
The Navy anniversary will be Mr. Aquino’s last military event as commander-in-chief. RAM/rga