ZAMBOANGA CITY, 6 August 2005 — The United States yesterday handed over six unsinkable fiberglass speedboats to the Philippine Navy as part of Washington’s security assistance, local security officials said.
Four of the boats, called Boston Whalers, are now commissioned by the navy’s elite SEAL teams engaged in anti-terrorism and special operations in the southern Philippines, said Commodore Rufino Lopez.
“The new boats will boost the government’s anti-terror campaign and the navy’s special operations in the southern Philippines,” Lopez told Arab News.
He said two of the boats are in Manila and would be deployed to other areas.
Lopez said the 25-footer boats are equipped with two 225 horsepower outboard engines and three machine guns.
The package, he said, cost about $5 million and includes training and equipment for Filipino soldiers.
The manufacturer of the Boston Whaler pioneered a revolutionary production process called “Unibond” that produced unsinkable boats.
The technique, still employed today, begins with a hull comprised of two fiberglass skins between which liquid foam is poured.
As the foam expands and hardens, it fuses with the fiberglass to form a single, inseparable unit. Because of the confined expansion space, the foam is very dense, which lends not only strength and rigidity, but provides unsurpassed flotation.
Navy officers said the Boston Whalers would provide a big boost to their capability in running after pirates and extremists, who are known to move around in the country’s vast southern seas with impunity because they often have faster vessels.
The US continue to advice the Philippine military in combating local terrorism as part of Washington’s security assistance to Manila. It also maintains in Zamboanga City a small force of American troops that continually trains Filipino troops in anti-terrorism warfare.
