BRP Davao del Sur (LD-602) is the second ship of the Tarlac-class landing platform dock of the Philippine Navy.[1] She is the second ship to be named after the Philippine province of Davao del Sur, one of the main provinces in Mindanao in Southern Philippines. She was launched on 29 September 2016[2] and was commissioned into service on 31 May 2017.[3]
Operational history
During the second week of May 2018, the BRP Davao del Sur participated in the Balikatan Exercise with US Forces together with the BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS-16).[4]
On the third week of May 2018, the BRP Davao del Sur participated in the commemorative activities of the first anniversary of the renaming of the Philippine Rise off the coast of Eastern Luzon. Among the activities that were done on board the ship were:
President Rodrigo Duterte signed the proclamation declaring portions of the Philippine Rise as a marine protected area and then led the send off for a team of Filipino scientists on a research mission to the Philippine Rise.[5]
A Ceremonial Flag Raising ceremony participated by military and other government personnel was also made.[6]
BRP Davao Del Sur was deployed with BRP Andrés Bonifacio (PS-17) to RIMPAC 2018, starting their voyage on June 11, 2018 and rendezvousing with ships from several regional navies and arriving at Pearl Harbor on June 27, 2018.
Among the events the ship participated at RIMPAC were:
An "Open Ship" one-day Guided Ship Tour for the public where students of the Naval Officers Basic Course performed a Cultural Performance for the ship's visitors.[7]
The Sand Volleyball Tournament where the ship was declared the overall winner among the 49 teams from 25 nations that participated.[8]