Indo Defence 2022: PT PAL lays out challenges faced in follow-on contract for Philippine Navy

The Philippine Navy's first strategic sealift vessel BRP Tarlac (LD 601), which was built by PT PAL in Surabaya, is pictured here. The company has since secured a contract to build two more vessels of the type for the service. (US Navy)

Indonesian state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL has laid out the challenges that it is facing with the follow-on contract to supply the Philippines with two more landing platform dock (LPD)-like strategic sealift vessels (SSVs).

These challenges include supply-chain disruptions that have arisen because of the war in Ukraine, and design changes that have been requested by the customer, said the company's CEO, Kaharuddin Djenod, in an interview with Janes at Indo Defence 2022 in Jakarta.

PT PAL disclosed in June 2022 that it had secured a follow-on contract to supply the Philippine Navy with two more SSVs.

The contract follows a USD92 million project that was awarded to the company in June 2014 to construct two vessels of the type for the Philippine Navy's sea-based transport and logistics requirements. These 123 m vessels were commissioned as the Tarlac-class SSVs and came into service in June 2016 and May 2017, respectively.

The new SSVs that will be built by PT PAL in Surabaya, Indonesia, will each have an overall length of 123 m and a height of 21 m. It will displace about 7,200 tonnes. The vessel has been designed to survive up to Sea State 6 and operate up to Sea State 4, the company said.