Indonesia To Deliver First Warship To Philippines Next Month

The first Strategic Sealift Vessel (SSV) ordered by the Philippines defense ministry from Indonesia will be delivered next month.

M Firmansyah Arifin, the President director of the Shipbuilding Company PT PAL Indonesia was quted as saying by Antara News Tuesday that the first SSV christened Tarlac will be delivered in May after the final touch on the ships hold.

Whereas, the second warship will be launched in September 2016 at the shipyard of PT PAL Indonesia in Tanjung Perak, East Java, Arifin said.

Currently the second ship is in the process of installation of its part blocks, he said.

Arifin said SSV is a high technology type of ship in the class of "Lloyd Register", adding it is the first type of warship exported by Indonesia.

SSV is an advanced type of "Landing Platform Dock" (LPD) designed with a length of 123 meters, width of 21.8 meters, and a speed of 16 knots and sailing endurance of 30 days in open sea.

The ship could carry two units of helicopter and transport "landing craft utility" (LCU) and a number of tanks and military trucks.