Navy flagship pulled from West Philippine Sea shoal
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Navy flagship BRP Gregorio del Pilar, which ran aground on Hasa-Hasa Shoal in the West Philippine, has been towed from the shoal, the military confirmed.
Col. Noel Detoyato, Armed Forces of the Public Affairs Office chief, told state-run Philippine News Agency that the Navy frigate was successfully retrieved at around 11:54 p.m. on Monday.
The Navy vessel will be undergoing inspection before being towed to Subic, Zambales, according to Detoyato.
AFP spokesperson Col. Edgard Arevalo said retrieval operations for BRP Del Pilar started at around 2 p.m. on Monday.
"Inspection was ongoing as of this time in preparation for the towing of the vessel to Subic," Arevalo said.
Based on assessment made by Coast Guard and Navy divers over the weekend, there were no hull punctures but the starboard propeller was detached from the shaft due to the grounding.
This damage was found repairable, according to the PNA report.
Tugboats owned by the Malayan Towage and Salvage Corporation led the vessel out of the shoal, along with the Coast Guard's BRP Sindangan and the Navy's BRP Nestor Reinoso and BRP Benguet.
The military earlier confirmed that no one was hurt when the Navy frigate ran aground the shoal in the West Philippine Sea, about 60 nautical miles from Rizal, Palawan.
"An investigation is expected in such situations to find out the possible causes of the grounding and to come up with steps to ensure that similar incidents will be prevented," the AFP said last week. — Patricia Lourdes Viray
The Philippine Navy has dispatched ships to assess, retrieve and bring flasghip BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15) to safe harbor after it ran aground on Hasa-Hasa Shoal (Half Moon Shoal).
The Philippine News Agency quotes Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana confirming the ship had run aground and saying: "It is still there and the Navy is still assessing damage before pulling it out."
The Del Pilar is a former US Coast Guard cutter and is the lead ship of her class. The other fomer Hamilton-class ships in the Philippine Navy are BRP Ramon Alcaraz (FF-16) and BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF-15).
The Philippine military is investigating the possible causes of the grounding of BRP Gregorio del Pilar in the vicinity of Hasa-Hasa Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
"All afloat vessels in the Western Command area have already been mobilized to conduct assessment, retrieve the aground vessel and return her to safe harbor, and assist all personnel aboard BRP Del Pilar," the Armed Forces of the Philippines said in a statement. — Patricia Lourdes Viray
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