Philippine Navy to receive first follow-on SSV this year after PT PAL delays

The Philippine Navy is set to receive the first of two follow-on strategic sealift vessels (SSV) / landing platform docks (LPD) by the end of the year, after delays linked to missed contractual milestones by Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL.

The contract for the repeat order was signed in June 2022 for $100.9 million (P5.59 billion). A military official privy to the deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to lack of authority to speak to the press, said the first ship was initially scheduled for delivery in the first week of November 2025. However, due to “some challenges the proponent is facing,” the first ship will instead be delivered in November this year, the official said, without elaborating. The second ship is scheduled for delivery in November 2027.

The contract covers two 7,200-ton, 124-meter landing platform docks, each equipped with two landing craft utility vessels. The keel for the first of the two follow-on ships was laid in January 2024, while steel cutting for the second ship was conducted simultaneously. Last October, the Indonesian shipbuilder said it was operating within the bounds of its revised contract.

“PT PAL Indonesia ensures through intensive communication and continuous coordination, every stage of work is carried out responsibly and transparently in accordance with the quality standards, and the specifications that have been agreed upon by both parties,” it said in a statement at the time.

In 2014, the Philippines signed a $92 million deal with PT PAL for two strategic sealift vessels. The ships were later commissioned as BRP Tarlac (LD-601) in 2016 and BRP Davao del Sur (LD-602) in 2017 under the Sealift Amphibious Force. Both vessels have participated in various exercises and humanitarian missions, including patrols in the South China Sea. BRP Tarlac made its first port call to Russia and took part in the international fleet review in South Korea in 2018, while BRP Davao del Sur was deployed to Oman in 2020 to repatriate overseas Filipino workers amid US-Iran tensions.

The Philippines has committed to allocate around ₱2 trillion (approx USD 35 billion) over the next decade to boost its military capabilities amid increasing tensions in the South China Sea. 

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