The Philippine Navy fleet on Tuesday occupied its new home at the former Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines (HHIC-Phil) shipyard in Subic.
The fleet, founded in Cavite, made a symbolic berth of its BRP Antonio Luna (FF151) at its new base with the assistance of the Offshore Combat Force and the Marine Installation and Naval Facilities (NIF) in Zambales, Naval Installation Command.
The event, led by the commander of the rear fleet, Admiral Nichols Driz, presented the commissioning of the Subic Naval Operations Base (NOB), which will serve as the new fleet headquarters where the Navy’s capital ships will have a sustainable berth.
The move follows the approval of the lease for the Philippine Navy (PN) to occupy the northern portion of the former HHIC-Phil shipyard, which encompasses approximately 250 acres of the site’s total of more than 700 acres.
The Navy’s acquisition of the ideal strategic port for the fleet’s giant vessel complex through the collaborative efforts of the Department of National Defense, the Office of the Executive Secretary, the Department of Finance, the Department of Budget and Administration, the Department of Justice, the Base Development and Conversion Authority, and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
The activation and upcoming commissioning of NOB Subic is consistent with the Navy’s intensified maritime operations towards the mandatory fundamental facilities of high-draft vessels, such as the Frigates Elegancia José Rizal, the Elegance Del Pilar Patrol Boats and the Elegancia Tarlac Landing Docks.
The newly activated base will be decided in space in fleet marine pools, maintenance and resupply services that will allow the fleet to meet the operational wishes of existing and long-duration capital vessels.