New PN ship sailing home

Tempo, Sunday, July 17, 2011

Philippine Navy (PN) Flag Officer-in-Command (FOIC) Vice Admiral Alexander Pama announced that the newly acquired PN ship Hamilton Class US cOast Guard Cutter is all set to all sail from San Francisco, California, United States tomorrow and head to its new home in the Philippines.

Pama will join the sendoff for the new PN ship BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15) for her three week voyage to the Philippines.

The Navy chief said the sendoff will the signal the last leg of activities for BRP Gregorio del Pilar in the US and will start the first leg of its journey for the Philippines.

"All preparations have been made for this long trip home as the actual send -off takes place on July 18, 2011 at 4 p.m." said Pama who will be flying to the US for the activity. The ship was turned over to the Philippine government on May 13 during rites attended by Philippine Ambassador to United States Jose L. Cuisia Jr., US Coast Guard Pacific Area and Defense Force West Commandnder Vice Admiral Manson K Brown, and Philippine Defense and Armed Forces Attache to the US PN Captain Antonio A. Habulan Jr.

Navy spokesman Col. Omar Tonsay said the send-off marks the second leg in the PF-15's voyage towards Philippine Maritime Security Operations, the first being the turnover.

Ex-cutter is Navy's newest ship

By Elena L Aben
Manila Bulletin, Saturday, July 16,2011

MANILA, Philippines — A Hamilton-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard will set sail from San Francisco, California, USA for the Philippines on July 18 to begin its new life as a ship of the Philippine Navy.

Philippine Navy Flag Officer-in-Command Vice Admiral Alexander Pama will join the send-off for the ship, which will be christened BRP Gregorio del Pilar, for her three-week voyage to the Philippines.

Pama said the send-off will signal the last leg of activities for Gregorio del Pilar in the US before it heads for the country.

“All preparations have been made for this long trip home as the actual send-off takes place on July 18, 2011 at 4:00 p.m.,” said Pama who will be flying to the US for the activity.

The ship was turned over to the Philippine government last May 13 during turnover rites attended by Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose L. Cuisia Jr., US Coast Guard Pacific Area and Defense Force West Commander, Vice Admiral Manson K. Brown; and Philippine Defense and Armed Forces Attache to the US, Navy Captain Antonio A. Habulan Jr. Aside from Pama, Philippine Deputy General Consul to San Francisco Wilfredo Santos will also attend the send-off for the Gregorio del Pilar.

The Navy’s spokesman, Col. Omar Tonsay, said the cutter was acquired through the United States Excess Defense Act (EDA) using Department of Energy Malampaya Project funds.

The ship will stop over in Hawaii and Guam for replenishment before continuing on to the Philippines.

Gregorio del Pilar was largely used by the US Coast Guard for drug and migrant interdiction, law enforcement, search and rescue, living marine resources protection, and defense readiness.

The Philippine Navy intends to use the multi-mission vessel for maritime security patrols and search and rescue.

More specifically, it will be deployed to aid in maritime security in the Malampaya Project west of Palawan, an area where there are several oil exploration projects.

The ship was specifically designated as a Weather High Endurance Cutter (WHEC). In the Philippines, it will be re-classified as a Surface Combatant Ship with a “Type Code” of “P” for Patrol and is further classified as a Frigate with a “Type Code” of “F”, hence the designation of “PF”.

Pama said the ship is powered by combined diesel engines and gas turbines and equipped with a helicopter flight deck, a retractable hangar, and facilities to support helicopter operations.

The Gregorio del Pilar measures 378 feet from bow to stern and has a displacement (Full Load) of 3,390 tons.

It has a maximum speed of 26 knots and a range of 14,000 nautical miles.

It can stay at sea for 30 days and has a crew of 18 officers and 144 enlisted men

www.mb.com.ph

Philippine Navy acquires biggest warship

By DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer,Sunday, July 17, 2011

The biggest ship ever to be acquired by the Philippine Navy, the renamed BRP Gregorio del Pilar, will begin its three-week journey to the Philippines from California on Monday.

The 378-foot Hamilton-class cutter is a decommissioned United States Coast Guard patrol vessel that the Philippines was able to acquire under the United States Excess Defense Act.

(The cutters are called “Hamilton class” after their lead ship, the Hamilton, named after Alexander Hamilton, the first US Secretary of the Treasury.)

Armed Forces Chief Eduardo Oban Jr. earlier said the transfer cost to the government was around P450 million.

The money used for its acquisition came from the Department of Energy’s Malampaya project funds, according to Lieutenant Colonel Omar Tonsay, chief of the Navy’s public affairs office.

While the ship—until recently the largest class of vessel in the US Coast Guard—was designated as a “weather high-endurance cutter” in the USCG, in the Philippine Navy it is classified as a “surface combatant ship” or a warship, said Tonsay.

It will be used for, among other purposes, defending the country’s interests in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), particularly in waters near the disputed Spratly Islands, according to the Navy.

The send-off in San Francisco will be attended by Navy Flag Officer in Command Vice Admiral Alexander Pama and Philippine Deputy General Consul to San Francisco Wilfredo Santos.

“The send-off will signal the last leg of activities for BRP Gregorio del Pilar in the US and will start the first leg of its journey to the Philippines,” said Pama.

Long trip home

“All preparations have been made for this long trip home as the actual send-off takes place on July 18 at 4 p.m.,” he said in a statement.

The journey will include stopovers in Hawaii and Guam for replenishment.

The Del Pilar, or PF-15, was turned over to the Philippine government on May 13 during turnover rites led by Jose L. Cuisia Jr., the Philippine ambassador to the United States, and Vice Admiral Manson K. Brown, the US Coast Guard Pacific Area and Defense Force West Commander.

The vessel, whose two 1,800 horsepower gas turbines can propel it to speeds of up to 28 knots, was renamed the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, or PF-15 (the type code designating it as a patrol frigate).

It is the biggest ship ever to be acquired by the Philippine Navy at 378 feet long, with displacement weight of 3,390 long tons. It can stay at sea for 30 days without refueling, and has a crew capacity of 180.

Powerful facilities

It is powered by combined diesel engines and gas turbines and equipped with a helicopter flight deck, a retractable hangar, and other facilities to support helicopter operations.

The Del Pilar will replace the 306-ft BRP Rajah Humabon, a Cannon-class destroyer-escort built during World War II, as the country’s biggest warship, said Tonsay.

The Hamilton-class cutter was largely used by the US Coast Guard for “drug and migrant interdiction, law enforcement, search and rescue, living marine resources protection, and defense readiness,” Tonsay said.

“The Philippine Navy, on the other hand, intends to use this multimission vessel for operations such as maritime security patrols and search and rescue,” he said.

“But more specifically, it will be deployed to aid in the maritime security of the Malampaya Project west of Palawan,” Tonsay said.

In a forum in May, Oban said the Del Pilar would be deployed to the Palawan area, “purposely to patrol our maritime area there and protect our territorial waters as well.”

Military modernization

The Philippines has sought to modernize its military following a series of incidents with China, particularly in the Spratlys, a reputedly oil- and gas-rice chain of islets claimed wholly or in part by the Philippines, China, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan.

The Philippines has accused China of repeated intrusions into Philippine-claimed territories in the West Philippine Sea that lie well within its exclusive economic zone.

On Friday, Oban said the AFP had recorded no new foreign intrusions in the area since June.

“That means we’re doing good in terms of our presence,” he said.

“What I’m saying is there are fewer incidences of intrusion unlike the first four to five months of the year when we have seen increased level of intrusion,” he said.

He said the AFP would maintain “vigilance on all fronts” in protecting Philippine waters.

“Our mandate is to patrol our exclusive economic zone. Whether there is threat or not we have to enforce maritime and environmental laws,” Oban said.

globalnation.inquirer.net

Newly acquired Navy vessel from US arriving

By Jaime Laude
Philippine Star, Sunday, July 17, 2011

Manila, Philippines - The Philippine Navy’s newly acquired cutter from the United States (US) Coast Guard is arriving in the country in three weeks’ time and after some refinements will be immediately deployed to secure the country’s territorial waters in the West Philippine Sea. Navy chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama said yesterday.

Pama flew to California yesterday in time for tomorrow’s sendoff of BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15) for a long voyage home, with stopovers in Hawaii and Guam for replenishment.

“The sendoff will signal the last activities for BRP Gregorio del Pilar in the US and to start its journey to the Philippines,” Pama said.

He said Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr., US Coast Guard Pacific Area and Defense Force West commander Vice Admiral Manson Brown and Philippine defense and Armed Forces attaché to the US Navy Capt. Antonio Habulan Jr. will be around during the official sendoff ceremony.

Aside from the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the government is also shopping for additional military assets in the US in line with the capability upgrade program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), to be used for its territorial defense amid the increasing tension in the West Philippine Sea brought about overlapping claims over the Spratlys.

A former USCG cutter, the Hamilton Class vessel, which is also classified as Weather High Endurance Cutter (WHEC), will first undergo refinements in its weapon and electronic systems upon its arrival before its deployment for maritime security operations in Palawan.

To accommodate the newly acquired PF-15, Pama said the Navy is putting up a naval base in Hulugan Bay fronting the West Philippine Sea, which will serve at the vessel’s homeport.

The scheduled deployment of PF-15 in the West Philippine Sea is expected to further boost the Navy’s platform in the hotly contested region to include maritime security operations for the Malampaya project west of Palawan.

“The Philippine Navy intends to use this multi-mission vessel for operations such as maritime security patrols and search and rescue. But more importantly, it will be deployed to aid in the maritime security of the Malampaya project,”Pama said.

While PF-15 is classified as a WHEC in the US, the Philippine Navy has refitted and refurbished it as a surface combatant ship with a type code of “P” for patrol and is further classified as a frigate with a type code of “F,” hence the designation of “PF.”

The vessel is powered by combined diesel engines and gas turbines and is equipped with a helicopter flight deck, a retractable hangar, and facilities to support helicopter operations.

With a total length of 378 feet, 42 inches beam, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar will be the Navy’s flagship.

philstar.com