Philippines commissions donated landing craft, retires 2 World War 2 patrol vessels

 

The BRP Miguel Malvar and BRP Magat Salamat during decommissioning on 10 December 2021. Photo c/o ABS-CBN News.

The Philippine Navy (PN) has commissioned a surplus landing craft utility (LCU) donated by the South Korean Government, after completing refurbishing works locally.

The LCU was commissioned as the BRP Mamanwa (LC-294) by the Philippine Navy on 06 December 2021 during simple ceremonies at Cavite Naval Base south of Manila.

It was named after the Mamanwa, an indigenous tribe in Mindanao island.

The ship, formerly the Mulgae-class LCU-78 of the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN), was committed for donation to the Philippines in 2014, and was reported to have arrived in 2015 together with 16 rubber boats and 200 computers donated by the South Korean Government to assist communities affected by the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan (local name Yolanda) in 2013.

The BRP Mamanwa was assigned with the Philippine Navy’s Sealift Amphibious Force, which handles all amphibious and logistics ships of the service.

In a separate event, the Philippine Navy retired its last two Malvar-class patrol vessels on 10 December 2021, after 44 years of service.

The ships, the BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19) and BRP Magat Salamat (PS-20), were former World War 2-era ships of the US Navy, which were passed on the Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVN) in the 1960s.

Both ships fled to the Philippines after the fall of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) in 1975, and were refurbished and transferred by the US Government to the Philippine Navy on February 1977.

The ships are the last remaining World War 2-era surface combatants of the Philippine Navy, known in the past for being equipped with some of the oldest fighting ships in the world. 

The retirement of the ships is used by the Philippine Navy to mark its shift to modern assets as it modernizes its fleet.

The ships’ decommissioning also comes after the Flag Officer in Command (FOIC) of the Philippine Navy Vice Admiral Adeluis Bordado, confirmed that the funding to acquire 6 new Offshore Patrol Vessels and 2 new Corvettes are expected to be released soon, while a second Pohang-class corvette from South Korea is being finalized for transfer.




[1] Inquirer.net
[2] MaxDefense Philippines
[3] ABS-CBN News