Biggest Ambulance And Disaster Response Ship For Red Cross Arrives In The Philippines

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has acquired the biggest ambulance and disaster response ship on Friday afternoon at Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The “M/V Susitna” is a 195-foot refurbished military prototype vessel was officially owned by PRC on June 23 after successfully passing sea trials in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough of Alaska, US.

“The Philippine Red Cross now owns the ship, we wish them well in their efforts to save and improve lives in the Philippine Islands,” Manager John Moosey of Matanuska-Susitna Borough said.

The acquisition of the M/V Susitna was moved by PRC Chairman Richard J. Gordon.

The vessel was a 195-foot military prototype ship that was supposed to be turned into a ferry service between Point MacKenzie and Anchorage in Alaska.

“Since it is designed for direct beach landings and to operate and land cargo and passengers on unimproved areas and damaged ports and wharfs, we won’t have to go through what we have experienced during Yolanda again,” Gordon said.

Furthermore, he explained that the ship will be capable of evacuating thousands of people from a particular barangay to a safer place when need arises in recognition of the fact that the country is disaster-prone.

“So we’re growing… and because of that, we have acquired a ship that can bring our goods and humanitarian response anywhere in the Philippines, being an archipelagic country,” Gordon added.

Source: Update