PH ships in RIMPAC opened for public tour

Zata said that the strategic sealift vessel BRP Davao Del Sur (LD-602) and frigate BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF-17) along with other ships participating in the RIMPAC exercise held a one-day guided shipboard tour for the public. (Photo: RIMPAC/Facebook)

MANILA — The two Philippine Navy (PN) vessels, deployed to this year’s “Rim of the Pacific” (RIMPAC) excercise, conducted an “Open Ship” while docked at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii last July 7.

This was bared by Navy spokesperson Cmdr.

Jonathan Zata in a statement late Monday.

He added that the strategic sealift vessel BRP Davao Del Sur (LD-602) and frigate BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF-17) along with other ships participating in the RIMPAC exercise held a one-day guided shipboard tour for the public.

Zata said around 3,000 military and civilians experienced the world-famous “Filipino Hospitality” during the tour.

Aside from orientation of the two ships’ capabilities, the tour was highlighted by the cultural performance from the students of Naval Officers Basic Course aboard BRP Davao Del Sur and live-band performance from the PN Seabees Band aboard BRP Andres Bonifacio.

RIMPAC 2018 started June 27 and will end on August 2.

“The Philippine Navy’s participation to RIMPAC 2018 trumpets the Command’s commitment in promoting multilateral cooperation to strengthen relationship and cooperation among participating navies of the world,” the PN spokesperson said.

Aside from the two ships, the PN also deployed an AgustaWestland AW-109 naval helicopter and 700 marines and sailors for RIMPAC 2018.