MANILA, Philippines - The military has sent Navy officers to the US to determine the requirements for the acquisition of a second Hamilton-class patrol ship.
Armed Forces deputy chief for plans and programs Brig. Gen. Roy Deveraturda said the team would gather data relevant to the acquisition like training requirements and sail route.
“The assessment team will determine the requirements and future actions of the Navy in case we acquire the ship from the US,” Deveraturda told The STAR.
“We already sent a survey team composed of personnel from the Philippine Navy to see what is needed (for the acquisition of the vessel),” he added.
Deveraturda said the Navy survey team left for the US last week.
The military hopes to acquire its second Hamilton-class cutter by the first quarter of 2012.
“Perhaps in the first quarter, the latest would be the second quarter of next year,” Deveraturda replied when asked when the armed forces would acquire the ship.
Deveraturda could not tell the exact location of the ship being eyed and the amount to be spent for its acquisition.
He, however, claimed that its cost would be close to the budget allocated to acquire the first Hamilton-class ship that arrived in the country last August.
“If we are talking about the cost, I could not tell the actual amount but it would not be far from the amount we spent for the first one,” he said.
The first Hamilton ship’s transfer cost has been pegged at P450 million while the operational cost for two years is estimated at P120 million.
Deveraturda said the Navy could only acquire the second Hamilton-class cutter once it is decommissioned by the US.
“The timeline for the retiring of the Hamilton-class ship (by the US) has not been followed. The ship that would replace it, the National Security-class cutter, is not yet available,” he said.
“That means they could still use the Hamilton ship.”
The Philippines had earlier acquired its first Hamilton-class vessel from the US Coast Guard to upgrade the military’s external defense capabilities.
The ship, which was renamed BRP Gregorio del Pilar, would be deployed to the West Philippine Sea to secure oil exploration projects in the area. The Gregorio del Pilar is classified as a cutter, a high-speed vessel that could cut through waves.
The ship is now the Navy’s largest vessel. It was acquired under the US
Foreign Military Sales program using proceeds from the Malampaya natural gas project that is located at the West Philippine Sea off Palawan.
The US Coast Guard had previously used the ship for drug and migrant interdiction, law enforcement, search and rescue, marine resources protection, and defense readiness.
The 380 feet-long vessel was turned over by the US Coast Guard to Philippine officials in California last May 13.
The ship started its voyage on July 18 when it sailed from California to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It sailed for Manila from Guam last Aug. 14 and the ship arrived in the Philippines last Aug. 17.