ONE of the 10 patrol boats committed by Japan is scheduled to arrive on August 18, Coast Guard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo confirmed Monday as one of the vessels was underway to the country.
Although both the Japanese Embassy and Department of Foreign Affairs could not confirm the report, Balilo said that another patrol boats will be turned over in December while the rest of the eight vessels is set to be turned over every three months or until December 2018.
“One more arriving on August 18. Next will be in December. After that, they’ll deliver every three months until they’re completed,” Balilo said.
Named as the BRP Tubbataha, the first patrol boat and the nine other multi-role response vessels will be classified as parola, or lighthouse-class vessels, each of which will be manned by at least 25 PCG personnel.
The vessel is 44 meters long and has a depth of four meters with a maximum speed of 25 knots.
The first patrol vessel was named after the Tubbataha Reef, a marine reservation area in Palawan.
The 10 patrol vessels are provided by Japan through its Official Development Assistance facility.
In 2014, the Japanese government has appropriated P29-billion soft loan to provide new 40-meters multi-role response vessel to the Philippines. The patrol vessels costs around $10 million.