Coast Guard needs 30 more ships for patrols

Philippine Coast Guard . INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Coast Guard needs 30 more ships and patrol craft to help secure the country’s maritime boundaries, a PCG official said on Saturday.

Rear Adm. Rodolfo Isorena, fleet commander, said the Coast Guard needed more vessels since its 15 boats were not enough to patrol the seas covered by the 54 PCG stations across the country.

“We really need more ships and patrol craft. That’s our number one priority,” Isonera said in an interview.

“Each station should have a ship so that if something happens in its area of jurisdiction, our unit can properly respond,” he added.

Isonera said the Coast Guard actually needed 60 ships but would settle for half that number due to the high cost of acquiring new vessels.

At present, the PCG’s main work horses are the four 56-meter Tenix (San Juan class) search-and-rescue (SAR) vessels which were acquired in the early 2000s.