The Philippine Coast Guard is expecting good news in the next dew days.
Its largest ship acquisition to date, the 94-meter Multi-Role Response Vessels (MRRV) it ordered from Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, will reach an important milestone this week.
But before that, our previous report that the new MRRVs are in fact 97 meters long, not 94 meters as suggested during the conceptual and contract signing phases of the project.
The first ship of the class, with hull number 9701 (97 meters, hull 01) which is still unnamed yet, is scheduled for launching on Monday, 26 July 2021 at MHI's shipyard in Japan.
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| Hull number 9701 is the first ship of the class of this new 97-meter MRRV for the PCG. Majority of its external components including radar and other subsystems are already installed on the mast. Photo shared to MaxDefense Philippines by sources. |
While there is still no name decided as of this writing, MaxDefense Philippines was told that a female hero's name would be used.
Among those in the shortlist of names are Melchora Aquino, also known as the revolutionary Tandang Sora, and Teresa Magbanua, a Filipino revolutionary who also participated in resistance against the United States during the Philippine-American War, and Japan during World War II.
Photos of the ship during its final few days before launching are shown below. Note the hull number 9701, and the aft of the ship still without a name painted on it.
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| The aft of the ship, showing the helicopter deck and hangar opening., twin screws and dual rudder. Take note, no name has been painted on the ship yet. Photo shared to MaxDefense Philippines by sources. |
The launching of the first ship of the class marks a major milestone for the project, and is remarkable considering the quick turn-around time from contract signing to construction.
The ship will have its final fit-out works to proceed afterwards and will be done with the ship already floating at pier.
This will be followed by at-pier tests of its subsystems, before conducting its sea trials which will later on involved personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard.
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| No doubt, its a ship for the Philippine Coast Guard. Photo shared to MaxDefense Philippines by sources. |
The new 97-meter Multi-Role Response Vessels were based on a revised Kunigami-class offshore patrol vessel used by the Japan Coast Guard, as shown below.
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| Some photos of Kunigami-class large patrol vessels of the JCG. Credits to original sources of the photos. |
While the ship's length was increased to 97 meters, it is expected that the basic requirements originally set for the project may remain, or will be very close to the final product.
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| Basic technical requirements of the MRRV, as indicated in the tender documents. Photo taken from DOTr/PCG bid documents. |
The ship has an overall length of 96.6 meters, a maximum width of 11.5 meters, a draft of 4.3 meters.
Delivery is still expected to be made by early May 2022, if no issues will be encountered considering COVID-19 pandemic is still a worldwide issue that may affect the movement of parts and technical personnel involved in completing the ship.
Construction of second unit with hull number 9702 is currently ongoing, and is expected to be launched by November 2021. This means the second ship is currently ahead of schedule, which is good news for the PCG as well.
Project Summary:
94-meter Multi-Role Response Vessel Acquisition Project
Note: Edited as of 22 July 2021:
* End User: Philippine Coast Guard
* Quantity: 2 nos.
* Project ABC: Php7,000,000,000.00
* Acquisition Mode: Limited Source Bidding
* Source of Funding: Official Development Assistance (ODA) by Japan JICA, ODA Loan No. PH-P263.
* Winning Proponent: Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.
* Product for Delivery: 2 nos. modified Kunigami-class 97-meter patrol vessel
* Contract Price: JPY14,550,000,000.00, approx. Php6,790,000,000.00
* Searching Hashtag: #PCG94mMRRV #PCG97mMRRV
* Status: Notice of Award (NOA) released 17 January 2020 in favor of Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. Contract Signing and release of Notice to Proceed (NTP) held on 07 February 2020. First steel cutting held on December 2020. Launching for first ship of the class scheduled by 26 July 2021. Second ship construction ongoing, scheduled to launch on November 2021.
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First release: 22 July 2021
Copyright MaxDefense Philippines
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