Philippine Coast Guard’s aluminium OPV passes first trials

The Philippine Coast Guard’s future offshore patrol vessel BRP Gabriela Silang has passed its first sea trials, the French shipbuilder in charge of delivering the vessel announced.

The milestone was achieved three months after the OPV was launched by OCEA at its Les Sables d’Olonne site.

Hailed as the world’s largest aluminium OPV by the shipbuilder, the 84-meter ship weighed anchor for her first sea trials in the early morning hours of October 11.

The builder said these preliminary sea trials of the OCEA OPV 270 demonstrated the general good behavior of the vessel, noting satisfactory sea keeping performances necessary for future helicopter or RIHB operations.

OCEA also revealed that the vessel exceeded the contractual maximum speed by one and a half knot!

The OPV is expected to be delivered to the Philippines by the end of the year. It will carry out all maritime security and safety missions under the responsibility of the coast guard in the waters of the Philippine archipelago.

With an autonomy of up to five weeks, the OPV can operate a 5-ton class helicopter and deploy two RHIBs 9.2 meters in length.