JICA completes design review for new Coast Guard vessels

MANILA, Philippines — The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has completed the design review for the two new 94-meter patrol vessels for procurement under a maritime capability improvement project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

With the completion of the design review, the DOTr can now finalize the bid documents for the construction of the additional multi-role response vessels (MRRV) for the second phase of the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project (MSCIP II) which is supported by a 16.455 billion yen (P7.724 billion) official development assistance from Japan.

The new high endurance vessels would provide the PCG with a cruising range capability of 4,000 nautical miles in rough sea conditions and the capability to conduct continuous maritime patrol up to 15 days at 15 knots. These new assets would provide the country with wider maritime coverage for strategic and national security purposes.

In the event of maritime disaster, each vessel can hold as many as 500 passengers when used in rescue operations.

The project is among those approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board chaired by President Duterte in September 2016. The vessels are expected to be delivered by November 2020 and March 2021.

“JICA has been supporting the PCG for the past decades and we’re looking forward to the completing of this assistance to ramp up design of the patrol vessels the PCG can use for maritime law enforcement and security,” said JICA chief representative Susumu Ito.

Under the project’s first phase, JICA provided six of the mid-sized MRRVs which are now deployed in Philippine sea waters.

JICA said the cooperation between JICA and the Philippines for maritime safety is meant to address rising maritime accidents due to increase in passengers, aging vessels and natural disasters.

MSCIP II will also include training for PCG personnel on vessel operation and maintenance which will take place both in Japan and the Philippines.