Phl to accept delivery of its 2nd US warship

WASHINGTON – The Philippines will receive its second high-endurance cutter from the United States Coast Guard next Tuesday to add more punch to the country’s naval fleet.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa and Rear Admiral Jose Alano, commander of the Philippine fleet, will officially receive the 378-foot Hamilton-class vessel from Rear Adm. John Korn, assistant commandant for acquisition at a ceremony in North Charleston, South Carolina.

“Since 1967, Coast Guard Cutter Dallas has served the American people well, from Vietnam and the Pacific to its final Coast Guard patrol in the Mediterranean,” Korn said in a statement.

“As Dallas returns to the Southeast Asian waters that it plied at the beginning of its Coast Guard career, I know it will serve the Philippines as faithfully and capably as it served America.”  

The first Coast Guard cutter turned over by the US last year was renamed BRP Gregorio del Pilar and is now the flagship of the Philippine Navy. A third warship is being sought as the Philippines, embroiled in a territorial dispute with China, seeks to build a credible maritime defense force. 

The Dallas, decommissioned last March after 45 years of service, will be rechristened BRP Ramon Alcaraz, said Philippine embassy Navy attaché Navy Capt. Elson Aguilar.

It is expected to set sail for the Philippines under the command of Capt. Ernesto Baldovino later in the year after repairs and refurbishment. 

The Philippines has requested that the vessel be turned over with as much military equipment as possible. 

Hamilton-class warships are generally armed with a single Mk 75 3”/62 compact gun system as well as two Mk 38 25mm bushmaster cannons and one Mk 15 Phalanx 20mm close-in weapon system.