The Philippine Navy commissioned its first landing dock vessel, BRP Tarlac, on Wednesday, boosting further its maritime capabilities amid tensions in the South China Sea.
“Kumpara sa mga nauna nating barko, mas maasahan at mas maraming kaya ikarga. Napakalaki po ng maiiserbisyo nito sa ating hukbo. Magsisilbi itong multirole vessel, di lang sa military operations kundi sa disaster response, sealift and logistics, search and rescue at mass na evacuation,” President Benigno Aquino III said onboard the vessel, where the Navy held its 118th anniversary.
(Compared to our previous vessels, this is more dependable and has more capabilities. This will be of big help to our forces. This will serve as a multirole vessel, not just for military operations but also for disaster response, sealift and logistics, search and rescue and mass evacuations.)
READ: Aquino leads launching of BRP Tarlac, Navy’s largest ship
The 120-meter long vessel has a capacity of 2,800 tons and costs P1.9 billion. Another ship of the same type will arrive next year.
READ: PH Navy to commission 4 more ships
The two strategic sealift vessels ordered from Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL cost P3.8 billion, sourced from the AFP modernization program.
The vessel can transport 500 troops, two rigid-hull inflatable boats, two landing craft units and three helicopters. It is the largest Philippine Navy vessel to date.IDL/rga