Ph Navy Launches First of Two New SSVs
Roxas Boulevard, Manila– The Flag Officer In Command, Philippine Navy (FOIC,PN), Vice Admiral Caesar C.Taccad, together with Secretary of National Defense (SND) Voltaire T.Gazmin, headlined the Philippine delegation who attended the launching of the PN’s first Strategic Sealift Vessel (SSV) contracted with the PT Pal Indonesia (Persero) in Surabaya, Indonesia on January 17, 2016.
Highlight of the activity was the unveiling of the first of the two SSVs as Landing Dock (LD) 601 with which the opening of the curtain ceremony was graced by FOIC, PN’s better half, Jocelyn Taccad. Likewise, the ceremony marked the Keel Laying or the formal start of construction of the second SSV (LD602) which is expected to be completed by the year 2017.
Also present in the ceremony were Rear Admiral Leopoldo M.Alano, Commander of Philippine Fleet; Commodore Rene V.Medina, Commander of the Sealift Amphibious Force; Captain Alberto Carlos, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff for Logistics;Captain Loumer P.Bernabe, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff for Ships and Yards;and Lieutenant Eric S.Iglesia of Logistics. On the other hand, the Indonesian delegation was led by Mr. RyamizardRyacudo, Minister of Defense and PT Pal President and Director Mr.FirmanshayArifin.
The Strategic Sealift Acquisition Project for the Philippine Navy was initiated upon the approval of acquisition decision memorandum Nr. 2012-060 by the SND last October 30, 2013. It is a two-unit SSV procurement project with an approved budget contract of PhP 4 billion sourced from the AFP Modernization Act Trust Fund. The Department of National Defensedeclared PT Pal Indonesia (Persero) as the Single Calculated Responsive Bidder with a bidding price of PhP 3.8 billion on November 18, 2014.
The SSVs are programmed to be the PN’s floating Command and Controlespecially in the conduct of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) and serving other purposes as military sealift and transport vessels. These vessels are also critical assets for civil-military operations due to their capability of transporting large number of soldiers, logistics, and supplies. Moreover, each SSV has the capacity to house three helicopters. The Navy’s Augusta Westland-109s are programmed to be on-board components of these vessels.
These forthcoming Landing Platform Dock Strategic Sealift vessels will improve the capacity of the PN and boost the defense capabilities of the country.
