MANILA — The JS Osumi (LST-4001), one of the three Osumi-class landing ship tanks in service with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), arrived at Pier 15, Manila South Harbor Thursday for a three-day goodwill visit until Saturday.
“The visit aims to strengthen the relationship between the two navies. It will further enhance and sustain the promotion of peace, stability, and maritime cooperation of the two countries through naval diplomacy and camaraderie,” Philippine Navy (PN) spokesperson, Capt. Lued Lincuna, said Thursday.
Lincuna said JS Osumi was in the Philippines in 2013, along with other extra-regional navies providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions in the wake of the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda that devastated Tacloban, Leyte and nearby provinces.
The JS Osumi, which is manned by 150 officers and enlisted personnel, is the lead ship of the Osumi-class which has a displacement of 8,900 tons and a length of 178 meters. These ships have a beam of 25.8 meters and a draft of 6 meters and has a top speed of 22 knots.
Among the visiting JMSDF personnel are the commander of Landing Ship Division One Capt. Tomonori Kobayashi and JS Osumi’s commanding officer Capt. Yuji Horikawa.
JS Osumi is the third JMSDF ship to visit the Philippines, with the destroyer JS Akizuki visiting earlier this month and the JS Amagiri last February. (With reports from Ericka Cirera, OJT/PNA)
