New RP navy vessel readied for test runs

The STAR Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The Philippine Navy is getting a dreamboat, but she will first be put through her paces along the coast of Louisiana.

A patrol craft turned over by the United States to the Philippines will undergo sea trials off the Louisiana coast next week, preparatory to being loaded aboard a cargo ship for delivery by mid-2004, said Capt. Victor Martir, naval attache at the Philippine Embassy in Washington.

The vessel, with a price tag of $25.69 million, is the namesake of the Cyclone-class Patrol Coastal (PC) ships and forms part of a $115-million US military aid package pledged by Washington to Manila in 2003.

Launched in 1992 as the USS Cyclone, the patrol ship has since been renamed the BRP Gen. Mariano Alvarez, in honor of one of the revolutionary generals in the Philippine war for independence against Spain, Martir said.

A 13-member Philippine Navy team led by the vessel’s new skipper, Cmdr. Edgar Abogado, and new executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Rommel Ong, arrived in Louisiana on Nov. 17 to train and familiarize themselves with their 340-ton ship.

They will sail her off the coast of Louisiana for a rigorous testing of her power and maneuverability between Dec. 15 and Dec. 19.

Martir said that when he first saw the BRP Gen. Mariano Alvarez in dry-dock for refurbishing, he immediately fell in love with her and wished for a moment that he was her commanding officer instead of Abogado, who is a rank below him.

"She’s a dreamboat," Martir said of the Philippine Navy’s newest patrol ship.

In the US navy, the primary mission of Cyclone-class vessels, which carry a total crew complement of 28, is coastal patrol and interdiction surveillance.

"Smaller than most US navy vessels at 180 feet, PCs still pack a lot of punch," a navy website extolling the virtues of the Cyclone-class ships said. "With a top speed of 35 knots and two 25-mm. chain guns capable of pumping out a blistering 175 rounds per minute, as well as many other small arms, a would-be terrorist should think twice before trying to make a run past these guys."

Commissioned as a US navy vessel in 1993, the USS Cyclone was transferred to the US coast guard in 2000 before being handed over to the Philippines.