Coast Guard receives first multi-role response vessel from Japan

Multi-role response vehicle Tubbataha. SCREENGRAB FROM COASTGUARD.GOV.PH

The Philippine Coast Guard received its first multi-role response vessel from Japan in South Harbor in Manila on Thursday.

Tubbataha, the 44-meter vessel, was named after the PCG lighthouse at the Tubbataha Marine National Park in Palawan.

The multi-role response vessel left Japan last August 11. It was launched at the shipyard of the Japan Marine United Corp. in Yokohama last May 12.

There will be nine other new vessels from Japan that would be delivered to the PCG until 2018. All the patrol boats acquired through the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project are worth P8.8 billion.

READ: DOTC orders 10 Japan-made sea vessels

The rest of the ships will be named after lighthouses by the PCG. They will be deployed in various areas, including Manila, La Union and Puerto Princesa.

The PCG said the vessels will be primarily used for rescue missions and disaster response, assistance in the control of oil pollution, transport of personnel and logistical support.

They will also be used for enforcement of all applicable maritime laws, especially those related to illegal fishing and sea patrol, the PCG said. CDG/rga

READ: Japanese ship arrives