Philippine Coast Guard to receive five more OPVs with Japanese assistance

Philippine Coast Guard multirole vessel, Teresa Magbanua . The service is poised to receive five more similar vessels. (Pieter Sinke)

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is poised to receive five more 97 m offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).

A ceremony to mark the exchange of diplomatic notes, which effects an official development assistance (ODA) loan from Tokyo to acquire the vessels, was held in Manila on 17 May, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) disclosed on the same day.

Under the loan, the PCG will procure the five OPVs as part of its Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project (MSCIP) Phase III.

The contract for the five OPVs will be incorporated with a project to develop support facilities such that the PCG can better support these vessels.

It is valued at approximately JPY64.38 billion (USD412 million), according to the DFA announcement.

“[The ODA loan] will support the PCG in improving its capabilities for maritime operations particularly in addressing transnational crimes,” the DFA added.

The PCG currently operates a fleet of two 97 m OPVs that were commissioned in May and June 2022.

These vessels are collectively known in-country as the Teresa Magbanua class and have also been acquired with assistance from the Japanese government.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding was selected in 2020 to construct the two OPVs, which have also been referred by the Philippine government as multirole response vessels (MRRVs).

The Japanese government is expected to select the shipbuilder to construct the five new OPVs in the next few months.

For more information on the Teresa Magbanua class, please see Teresa Magbanua class (OFFSHORE PATROL VESSELS) (WPSOH) .