BRP Ramon Alcaraz (Philippine Navy photo)
MANILA – The offshore patrol vessel, BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS-16), will undergo sea trials starting Tuesday to check whether it is ready for deployment after its engine room caught fire last May, a Navy official said Monday.
Philippine Navy chief, Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, said the vessel underwent major checks and repairs since it arrived last June 12 from picking-up overseas Filipino workers and tourists stranded in India and Sri Lanka.
Sea trials are the last part of the construction or repair process which determines the vessel's seaworthiness.
"Tomorrow, September 8, will be her scheduled sea trials. If successful, the ship is ready for deployment," he said.
BRP Ramon Alcaraz and landing dock, BRP Davao Del Sur (LD-602), are the two ship-component of Naval Task Force 82 (NTF 82) deployed to Oman in February for the repatriation of overseas Filipinos in the Middle East following tensions between the United States and Iran early this year.
When tensions between the two countries eased, the task force went on another mission of transporting donated face masks and repatriation of stranded Filipinos in India and Sri Lanka due to the pandemic. (PNA)
