Several officers and members of the sailing crew arrive in France for familiarization training for the PCG’s first offshore patrol vessel BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV 8301). The team will conduct two-month vessel familiarization training in Les Sables-d’Olonne in France.
Some personnel from the Coast Guard Surface Support Force and Coast Guard Weapons, Communications, Electronics and Information Systems Command also arrived in France for a preliminary commissioning training on vessel specification and operation familiarization provided by OCEA.
The new Philippine Coast Guard vessel is capable of patrolling Benham Rise and the West Philippine Sea. OPV-8301 is the last vessel ordered by the Philippines as part of the Php 5.5 billion-contract acquisition project including the four 24-meter Fast Patrol Boats that were already delivered.
The vessel has a length of around 84-meters, a speed of 22 knots (41 kilometers per hour) and a range of 14,800 kilometers at a speed of 22 km/h. It can patrol for a month and able to withstand rough seas which are suitable to guard in the West Philippine Sea and Benham Rise. The ship also can carry one helicopter for patrol support mission.
Last July 17 this year, OCEA held a ceremony to formally launch the vessel in OCEA shipyard graced by officials from the Department of Transportation, Maritime Industry Authority and the PCG.
The new Philippine Coast Guard ship is expected to arrive this coming December 2019.
