BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15) |
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| Career (United States) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USCGC Hamilton (WHEC-715) |
| Builder: | Avondale Shipyards |
| Launched: | December 18, 1965 |
| Commissioned: | March 18, 1967 |
| Decommissioned: | March 28, 2011 |
| Fate: | transferred to Philippine Navy in 2011. |
| Badge: | |
| Career (Philippines) | |
| Name: | BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15) |
| Namesake: | Gregorio del Pilar (1875-1899), a Filipino revolutionary general |
| Operator: | Philippine Navy |
| Acquired: | 13 May 2011 |
| Commissioned: | 14 December 2011 |
| Maiden voyage: | 18 July 2011 |
| Nickname: | BRP Goyo, BRP Goryo, BRP GDP |
| Status: | in active service, as of 2012[update] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Frigate |
| Displacement: | 3,250 tons, probably less due to removal of several weapons & sensors system |
| Length: | 378 ft (115 m) |
| Beam: | 43 ft (13 m) |
| Draft: | 8.75 ft (2.67 m) |
| Installed power: | 5,800 hp (4,300 kW) |
| Propulsion: | CODOG system featuring 2 x Pratt & Whittney FT4A-6 gas turbines producing 36,000 hp (27,000 kW) or 2 x Fairbanks-Morse 38TD8-1/8-12 12-cylinder diesel engines generating 7,000 hp (5,200 kW); retractable bow propulsor with 350 hp (260 kW)[1] |
| Speed: | 28 knots (52 km/h) max |
| Range: | 14,000 nautical miles (25,900 km) |
| Boats and landing craft carried: |
2 x RHIB |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
|
| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | BO-105C light helicopter |
| Aviation facilities: | retractable hangar and flight deck |
The BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15) is a patrol frigate of the Philippine Navy. Originally, it was built as a US Coast Guard Hamilton class cutter, known as USCGC Hamilton (WHEC-715) and was transferred to the Philippine Navy on May 13, 2011.[3] She is the second Philippine Navy ship to have borne the same name, the first being another ex-US Coast Guard Cutter. She is expected to be the first of several ex-US Coast Guard Hamilton-class cutters that will serve the Philippine Navy.[4]
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USCGC Hamilton (WHEC-715) was based out of San Diego, California. It was launched December 18, 1965 at Avondale Shipyards near New Orleans, Louisiana and named for Alexander Hamilton the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and founder of the United States Revenue Cutter Service. She was commissioned March 18, 1967 and was decommissioned on March 28, 2011. The ship was sold under the FMS program and was transferred to the Philippine Navy.
Hamilton served a variety of missions with distinction. During a 1969-70 deployment to Vietnam, Hamilton interdicted weapons smugglers and fired more than 4,600 rounds of gunfire in support of U.S. and Vietnamese troops ashore. From 1965-1975, Hamilton served on Atlantic Ocean Stations, collecting valuable oceanographic data and conducting frequent search and rescue missions. Hamilton also directed the interdictions of over 21,000 Haitian migrants throughout the Caribbean during Operation Able Manner. In 1994, Hamilton received the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation for rescuing 135 Haitians from the sea after their sailboat capsized and sank. In 1996, Hamilton transited the Panama Canal and served as the command and control platform for Operation Frontier Shield, a multi-agency effort to curtail the influx of narcotics into the United States. Hamilton intercepted 14 drug-laden vessels carrying more than 115 tons of contraband worth 200 million dollars. In 1999, Hamilton seized over 2,700 kilograms of cocaine bound for the U.S. in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Hamilton frequently patrolled the Bering Sea off the Alaskan coast at the Maritime Boundary Line (MBL) which separates the Russian and the United States' Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). Hamilton's presence on the MBL deterred foreign fishing vessels from fishing in the U.S. EEZ.[5]
In March 2007, Hamilton assisted the Sherman in the largest recorded maritime drug bust in history. The two vessels intercepted the Panamanian-flagged fishing vessel Gatun in international waters and were able to recover 20 metric tons of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $600 million dollars retail. The seizure was the largest drug bust in US history and the largest interdiction at sea.[6]
In 1988, Hamilton completed a three-year fleet renovation and modernization that provided the ship with modern weapons and electronics systems. All spaces and machinery were also completely overhauled and refurbished. The new technology enabled Hamilton to operate seamlessly with the United States Navy.[5]
Proposal to decommission the ship was made for fiscal year 2011 budget, and the Philippines sent a formal letter of interest for its purchase. As an Excess Defense Article (EDA), transfer took place “as is”. The US Coast Guard invited the Philippines to send technical teams to the cutter's homeport of San Diego during consecutive weeks in November 2010 to conduct a thorough inspection, known as a Joint Visual Inspection (JVI) of the vessel. The Philippine Navy sent its acting head, and conducted full reviews, both dockside and underway, of their prospective cutter’s structural condition, propulsion systems, engineering plan, material history and any corrosion issues.[7]
From January 2011, the US Coast Guard provided 10 weeks of combined dockside and underway training on Hamilton's sistership, the USCGC Boutwell for ship's prospective commanding officer, executive officer and crew.
Phase I of the training, from late February until the end of April 2011, involved training 21 members of its prospective crew. The Philippine Navy crew trained on the Boutwell during its maneuvers off the coasts of Mexico and Panama. Phase II of additional dockside and underway training began on 14 May 2011. For 10 weeks, 11 Coast Guard advisors and subject matter experts helped train the remaining 75 crew members. This included the ship's layout, navigation systems, and operating, casualty and maintenance procedures that would allow the safe operation of the ship back to the Philippines.[7]
The Hamilton was formally decommissioned on late March 2011, and the US Coast Guard removed the ship’s air surface search radar to use as a spare for operational WHECs. Also removed are the ship’s Close-In Weapons System and secondary 25 mm gun systems, which will be used on their new National Security Cutters (NSCs) and Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters, respectively. In return, the US Coast Guard began procuring and installing the safe-to-sail navigation equipment, radar systems and additional electronics that the Philippines' requested as part of its transfer support case.[7] It was also announced that the Philippine Navy will install a 25mm chain gun, six mounted 50-caliber guns and two 20mm cannons.[2]
The ex-Hamilton was formally transferred to the Philippine government on 13 May 2011 during ceremonies at Coast Guard Island, and was renamed BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15). The ship was then turned over to its Filipino crew, with Capt. Alberto A. Cruz as its first commanding officer.[7]
After June 30, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar moved from Coast Guard Island to a commercial pier in Alameda to finish the remaining work, with around 13 separate contracting actions. In early July, the ship did a four-day run at sea along the coast of California for a test of the crew’s capabilities and the ship’s sea-worthiness. After that, the American trainers disembarked and left the Filipino naval officers and men on their own. She officially got underway on July 18th from Coast Guard Island Alameda on the voyage home to the Philippines and was expected to arrive in mid-August 2011.[8] In late July 2011, she passed by Hawaii for a brief port visit and during mid Aug. 2011 in Guam prior to arriving in the Philippines on August 21, 2011.[9]
The ship arrived in Philippine territory last August 17 after almost a month of voyage from California, and arrived in Manila on 21 August 2011. After the arrival ceremony on 23 August 2011, the ship underwent dry-docking and repainting to standard haze grey. Some minor repairs and fitting of additional facilities, equipment and armaments was done.[10][11] The ship was formally commissioned at 10:00 a.m. of 14 December 2011 during ceremonies in Manila South Harbor Pier 13. President Benigno Aquino III's elder sister, Maria Elena “Ballsy” Cruz served as the principal sponsor of the ship.[12]
President Benigno Aquino III hopes that this, his first major military acquisition, will be a symbol of his administration's intention to strengthen and modernize the Philippine Navy and Armed Forces, and to defend its territory and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea, also known as the West Philippine Sea.[13] [11]
The ship's transfer cost was pegged at Php450 million (around US$13.18 million as of 2011), while operation costs for 2 years was estimated at Php120 million. Funding came from the Department of Energy (DOE), considering that the vessel is projected to be deployed to secure oil platform and exploration activities in the Western and Southern Philippines.[14]
Originally the Philippine Navy's Organizational and Manpower Management Committee, which deliberated on the possible names for the vessel, came up with three candidate names — Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas (BRP) Lapu-Lapu, BRP Gregorio del Pilar, and BRP Jose Torres Bugallon. Ultimately the panel confirmed the name Gregorio del Pilar in honor of the young general of the Philippine Revolution who was the hero of the Battle of Tirad Pass during the Philippine-American War where he lost his life.[14]
On 27 July 2011, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for a scheduled port visit. She will take on supplies and fuel, and hold a reception hosted by the Philippine Consulate in Honolulu and the Philippine Celebrations Coordinating Committee of Hawaii. The crew will also visit the USS Arizona Memorial. It also marks the first time a Philippine naval vessel pulled into Pearl Harbor.[15][9]
After her stop at Hawaii, she arrived for a port visit to Guam on 12 August 2011, and departed on 14 August 2011 on the way to the Philippines.[16][17]
On 30 July 2011, the Gregorio del Pilar and USS Reuben James (FFG-57) conducted a Passing Exercise (PASSEX) off the coast of Hawaii.[9]
On 22 August 2011, the United States Embassy in Manila posted on their Facebook account photos indicating that BRP Gregorio del Pilar had an in-stride training with USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) on their transit to Guam, which may have started around 4 August 2011.[18]
The ship was designed with a high level of habitability and provides fairly comfortable accommodations, including air conditioning.[5]
She is the first Philippine military vessel to employ the now-common aircraft gas-turbine jet engines with the use of controllable pitch propellers. With her two 18,000 horsepower (13,000 kW) Pratt & Whitney gas turbines, she can travel at speeds up to 28 knots (52 km/h).[19] She also has two 3,500 horsepower (2,600 kW) Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, capable of driving the ship economically at 17 knots (31 km/h) for up to 14,400 nautical miles (26,700 km) without refueling.[19] A retractable/rotatable bow propulsion unit provides maneuverability in tight situations.
Prior to turn-over to the Philippine Navy, the ship was armed with a Mk.75 Oto Melara 76 mm Compact main gun, two Mk.38 M242 Bushmaster 25 mm chain gun at midships, and a Phalanx CIWS system aft.[20] The CIWS and chain guns were removed prior to its turn-over, with the Mk.75 gun remaining.
Photos taken during its commissioning ceremonies on 14 December 2011 show additional armaments installed on the ship.[1] This include one Mk.38 M242 Bushmaster 25 mm chain gun aft, two Mk.16 20 mm guns at midships, and six 50-caliber 12.7 mm machine guns (two forward below the main gun, two at flight deck shoulder extensions, and two near the Mk.38 gun aft).[2]
The Gregorio del Pilar has a flight deck and hangar capable of handling helicopters. Currently a BO-105 light surveillance helicopter is assigned with the ship.
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