The ''Bacolod City'' class is a ship class of two

Logistics Support Vessel An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense. Auxil ...

s currently in service of the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) () is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 91 combat ...

, commissioned during the early 1990s and named after the provincial capital of Negros Occidental. These ships were based on a helicopter capable variant of the United States Army's ''General Frank S. Besson, Jr.'' class Logistics Support Vessel.

History

The two ''Bacolod City'' class ships were built by Halter/Moss Point Marine of

Escatawpa, Mississippi Escatawpa is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,254 at the 2020 census. History The comm ...

in the United States. The first unit, was commissioned into

in December 1993, while sister ship was commissioned in April 1994. Both ships were purchased brand-new by the Philippine government through the

Foreign Military Sales Foreign Military Sales (FMS) is a security assistance program of the United States government to facilitate the purchase of U.S. arms, defense equipment, design and construction services, and military training to foreign governments. FMS is a gove ...

program of the United States. Since commissioning, both ships have been rigorously used in military and peacetime operations, and have participated in joint military exercises with foreign navies. Presently they are assigned with the Sealift Amphibious Force (formerly Service Force) of the Philippine Fleet.''Philippine Fleet Official Website''
Commissioned ships and crafts
.

Technical details

The ships are powered by two

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

- EMD 16-645EZ6

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s with a combined power of around driving two

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

s. The main engines can propel the 1,400 ton (4,265 tons full load) ship at a maximum speed of . At a sustained speed of , the vessels have a range of . As an amphibious transport, it is fairly armed for defensive purposes, and carries four 12.mm heavy machine guns at the front side decks, and two Oerlikon 20 mm cannons near its two personnel landing craft (LCVP's). The prime mission of the ship is the direct transport and discharge of liquid and dry cargo to shallow terminal areas, remote under-developed coastlines and on inland waterways. The ship does not require external cranes or port facilities, and even in only four feet of water under full load, the ship is still able to land. This capability expands the choice of landing locations, and at the same time reduces the potential enemy impact on the logistics support operations. The ships have a capacity to transport up to 48 TEU or 2,280 tons vehicles/general cargo, or up to 900 tons on Logistics Over The Shore (LOTS)/amphibious operations. The ramps and main deck are able to support

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

for vehicles up to

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...

s.''Naval Technology'
Frank S Besson Class LSV Logistic Support Vessel
/ref>

Ships in Class

References

External links

Philippine Navy Official website

BRP Bacolod City threads @ Philippine Defense Forum

History

Technical details

Ships in Class

References

External links

See also