PCG taking delivery of P7-B multi-response vessels
By EMMIE V. ABADILLA
The Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) recently took delivery of the first of two P7 billion worth, 97-meter, multi-role response vessels (MRRVs) to modernize the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) fleet.
The BRP Teresa Magbanua was the PCG’s largest MRRV fleet acquisition under DOTr’s Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project (MSCIP) Phase II. It was delivered from the Shimonoseki Shipyard in Japan at the Port Area in Manila near the end of last month.
The BRP Teresa Magbanua was modeled after the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) Kunigami-class vessels and has maximum speeds of 24 knots.
The new PCG vessel has an endurance of no less than 4,000 nautical miles, which will greatly improve the PCG’s maritime security and safety capabilities in patrolling the country’s maritime borders.
The second 97-meter PCG vessel is expected to arrive in May 2022 l, with final acceptance scheduled in September 2022.
Both PCG vessels, which will PCG's largest floating assets, employ Japanese technology to withstand operating in the high seas under rough conditions.
The PCG meant to use them to patrol the country's maritme territories, including exclusive economic zones, aside from the usual function of search and rescue, marine environment protection and maritime safety.
The bulk of global trade, nearly 90 per cent, pass through sea waters.
Both Japan and the Philippines are maritime nations depending on seaborne trade for their economic prosperity.