THE retrieval operations for the Navy’s flagship BRP Gregorio del Pilar, stuck in the West Philippine Sea where it ran aground, may begin this week as the two tugboats tapped to pull the vessel were already steaming towards the area.
Military public affairs office chief Col. Noel Detoyato said one of the tugboats was expected to arrive at the Hasa-hasa Shoal (Half Moon Shoal) on Sunday afternoon. “(We are) still awaiting for the arrival of the tugboats from Batangas. One is arriving this afternoon and the other one is already following,” said Detoyato on Sunday.
“Only then will the actual retrieval operations begin,” he added.
Over the weekend, military officials said the pullout of the grounded warship may begin Monday following the chartering of the tugboats for the operations and the completion of the initial assessments, both on the vessel and on the spot where it was grounded.
The assessments were carried out by sailors and divers from the Philippine Coast Guard, which sent two of its multi-role and response vessels (MRRV 4407 and 4409) in and near the area where the Gregorio del Pilar was stuck.
The warship, acquired as a former cutter from the United States Coast Guard, was on routine patrol in the West Philippine Sea when it ran aground between Pagasa Island and the southern tip of Palawan on Wednesday night.
None of the officers and crewmen of the vessel was injured, although the ship’s thrusters on the side were “minimally” damaged.
China has offered its help in the retrieval operations, but Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has spurned the offer, saying the military can extricate the vessel on its own.
The military has activated the Joint Task Force Goyong as a result of the accidental grounding of the Gregorio del Pilar at the Hasa-hasa Shoal, sending assets from the Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force in the area for security and retrieval operations.
The task force is headed by Commodore Rommel Galang, commander of the Naval Task Force West.
Detoyato said Galang will manage, supervise and direct the retrieval operations so that the captain of Gregorio del Pilar can look over the day-to- day operations and security of the vessel.