The flagship of the Coast Guard patrol vessel CSB 8020 is about to arrive in Vietnam.

Foreign military websites have recently published images of Vietnam's CSB 8020 vessel docking at Manila port in the Philippines for a visit and exchange with its Philippine counterparts.

As is known, the CSB 8020 vessel, formerly the USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC 722) of the United States Coast Guard, which was transferred to the Vietnam Coast Guard by the US side, officially departed from Honolulu, Hawaii, USA at 10:18 AM on November 20, 2017 (UTC-10 - local time).

The journey of the CSB 8020 and its crew back to Vietnam is expected to last about a month, and yesterday the ship arrived at Manila port in the Philippines, beginning its visit and exchange with the host country's navy.

Vietnam's CSB 8020 vessel docks at Manila port, Philippines.

Currently, the Philippine Navy has a total of three Hamilton-class patrol vessels, similar to the CSB 8020, in its fleet.

The Philippine Navy has more experience in operating and maintaining Hamilton-class ships than Vietnam, so we can learn some knowledge from them during this exchange.

The Philippines is planning to upgrade its Hamilton-class ships into full-fledged warships by adding Harpoon anti-ship cruise missiles and fire control radar; in this respect, our capabilities are superior to theirs.

Philippine Navy ship BRP Ramon Alcaraz (FF-16)

Vietnam may consider equipping the 3M24 Uran-E missile with the Garpun-Bal radar for guidance in the future.

With the above reception process, the CSB 8020 vessel will certainly arrive in Vietnam in just a few days, significantly shortening the time compared to the original estimate. This will be a valuable experience for our crew in successfully and safely returning home across the ocean.

The addition of the CSB 8020 patrol vessel will help enhance the capacity of the Vietnam Coast Guard in maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, and humanitarian operations.

According to Baodatviet