Philippines' newest warship visits Pearl Harbor

MANILA, Philippines - The newest addition to the country's naval fleet has reached the renowned Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii over the weekend, the Philippine Navy (PN) said.

The BFP Ramon Alcaraz arrived in Pier Bravo 26 last July 12 (US time), according to an article posted on the official website of the PN.

The article said the officers and crew of the newest Philippine warship were received by a crowd of Filipino-American navy personnel and civilians led by Capt. Jesse James, commander of the Joint Base Hickam Pearl Harbor.

“I love the Philippines. I love having Filipinos here. I hope they’ll have a good time,” the article quoted James as saying.

The warship's crew reportedly conducted various administrative and logistics activities at Pearl Harbor, such as hauling of food provisions and re-watering.

The command team of the Alcaraz was also scheduled to pay a courtesy call to the commander of the Navy Region Hawaii.

In a welcome party for the ship's officers and crew, Consul Roberto Bernardo, the acting head of post in Hawaii, stressed the importance of the acquisition of the Alcaraz that will "pave the way to an effective patrol of our seas and defend the territorial waters of the Philippines."

The Alcaraz is a 378-foot Hamilton-class weather high endurance cutter decommissioned by the US Coast Guard that had undergone retrofitting and refurbishment worth P620 million.

The ship made previous port stops in Panama and San Diego, California. It is set to have another one in Guam before arriving to the Philippines next month.