The Philippines is expanding its maritime patrol and response capacity with five new 97-meter vessels, giving the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) more assets for longer operations across the country’s waters.

The Department of Transportation (DoTr), PCG and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. have formally implemented the third phase of the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project, moving the five-vessel acquisition into detailed design, construction, and testing stages.

The project is backed by a ¥64.38-billion Japanese concessional loan, equivalent to about P24.57 billion when the financing agreement was signed in 2024.

The package covers the design, construction and delivery of the five multi-role response vessels (MRRVs), as well as five years of integrated logistics support.

The five ships will further build up the PCG’s large-vessel fleet, expanding its ability to conduct sustained maritime safety and security operations, search and rescue, law enforcement, and environmental protection.

“The construction and delivery of five 97-meter Multi-Role Response Vessels is a significant investment in the Philippine Coast Guard’s capabilities,” DoTr Assistant Secretary for Maritime Villamor Ventura Plan said on Tuesday.

The DoTr said the additional vessels would strengthen the country’s ability to protect lives, promote maritime safety and security, and respond to growing demands across its maritime domain.

The five ships will add to 12 MRRVs previously provided to the Philippines with Japanese support under the first two phases of the program. These include two 97-meter vessels, BRP Teresa Magbanua and BRP Melchora Aquino, which are among the PCG’s largest ships.

The existing 97-meter class is designed for extended offshore operations. Mitsubishi said the vessels built under the previous phase have a cruising range of up to 4,000 nautical miles, a maximum speed of 24 knots, and facilities for helicopter operations.

The latest project formally entered its implementation phase following a kick-off meeting between the DoTr-PCG and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding at the company’s Shimonoseki Shipyard in Japan.

The parties also began identifying potential technical, contractual, scheduling, and operational risks to prevent problems that could disrupt major construction and delivery milestones.

The DoTr-PCG and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding said they would maintain close coordination to ensure the vessels are delivered in accordance with the project’s schedule and technical, contractual, and operational requirements.