According to information published by the Philippine News Agency on September 1, 2021, repairs on the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar, which was damaged after a grounding incident in 2018, are expected to be completed this month, a Philippine Navy (PN) official said.
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BRP Gregorio del Pilar Offshore Patrol Vessel (Picture source: The Daily Tribune)
One of the ship's two variable pitch propellers was damaged, along with its propeller hub, after its grounding off Hasa-Hasa Shoal in August 2018.
The PN earlier said difficulties in procuring parts and the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic have moved the completion of the repairs of the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar to the later part of 2021.
BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PS-15) is the lead ship of her class of offshore patrol vessels of the Philippine Navy. She is the second ship to be named after Gregorio del Pilar, a Filipino revolutionary general known for his role at the Battle of Tirad Pass.
Gregorio del Pilar is the first Philippine military vessel to employ the now-common shipboard application of aircraft gas turbine jet engines with the use of controllable pitch propellers and is equipped with two 18,000 horsepower (13,000 kW) Pratt & Whitney gas turbines that can propel the ship at speeds up to 28 knots (52 km/h). Gregorio del Pilar also has two 3,500 horsepower (2,600 kW) Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, capable of driving the ship economically at 17 knots (31 km/h) for up to 14,400 nautical miles (26,700 km) without refuelling.
The Del Pilar-class offshore patrol frigate vessels currently in service with the Philippine Navy are three ships formerly belonging to the US Coast Guard's Hamilton-class high endurance cutters.