BRP Davao del Sur (LD-602) is the second and last ship of her class of the Philippine Navy’s landing platform docks.She is the second ship to be named after the Philippine province of Davao del Sur, one of the main provinces in Mindanao in Southern Philippines.She was launched on 29 September 2016 and she was commissioned into Philippine Navy service on 31 May 2017.
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| BRP Davao del Sur (LD-602) |
BRP Davao Del Sur is the navy’s second Strategic Sealift Vessel (SSV), following the arrival of the BRP Tarlac in June 2016. The two brand new ships cost the previous Aquino administration P4 billion ($85 million*).
It is a much awaited asset of the Philippine Navy. The SSV has ability to serve as one-stop operations center at sea, crucial in sending quick deployments such as in humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
Measuring 123 meters long and with a maximum carrying capacity of 11,583 tons, the SSVs can transport heavy equipment, supplies, and troops to anywhere in the archipelago. It has provisions for 121 crew members and can house up to 500 soldiers. It can also carry up to 3 naval helicopters on its heli-deck and two “baby boats” in its rear hold. No other load-bearing ship in the Navy’s fleet can compare.
First Published: wikipedia.org
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