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BRP Ramon
Alcaraz PF-16 (photo : Balitang)
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PH Navy Ship
Being Prepared for Voyage
CHARLESTON,
South Carolina – BRP Ramon Alcaraz, the second Hamilton-Class Cutter acquired
by the Philippines from the US, is being prepared for its voyage to the
Philippines by early 2013. The ship,
formerly called the USCGC Dallas, was a Coast Guard high endurance cutter
commissioned in 1967 in New Orleans and was decommissioned in March 2012.
Named after
war hero Commodore Ramon Alcaraz--a distinguished Philippine Navy Officer
during the Second World War who was awarded the Silver Star for shooting down 3
Japanese planes off Bataan in 1942--the ship was formally transferred to the
Philippine government, under its first Filipino Commanding Officer Ernesto
Baldovin, on May 22.
Baldovino
and 85 Filipino Navy officers and crew will be part of the sailing crew in its
tentative journey to the Philippines by spring next year. The ship’s
14 officers and enlisted men and women are also undergoing training under the
US Coast Guard.
The ship was
reportedly purchased to conducting patrols for extended periods of time as it
can withstand heavy weather and rough water conditions. BRP Alcaraz
is currently docked at a naval facility center in Charleston, South Carolina
while it undergoes general overhaul and further installation of navigational,
electronics and weapons equipment.
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