Video: Peruvian Navy Commissioned its First LPD - BAP Pisco.

On June 6, 2018, the main Peruvian naval base of Callao hosted the commissioning ceremony of landing platform dock (LPD) BAP Pisco (officially classified as a "multipurpose ship" - Buque Multipropósito). The amphibious vessel was built locally by Peruvian naval shipbuilding and shiprepair association (Servicio Industrial de la Marina de Guerra del Perú) SIMA in Callao. The ceremony was attended by the President of Peru Martin Viscarra.

Commissioning ceremony of the Pisco Landing Platform Dock. Peruvian Navy picture.

The construction of the ship was carried out by SIMA with the assistance of the South Korean shipyard POSCO DAEWOO(포스코대우). The ship itself is a further development of the DSME-built Makassar-class LPD for Indonesia. The Ministry of Defense of Peru signed a memorandum of understanding with DSME on April 10, 2012 regarding the construction of two LPDs in Peru, and in October 2012 an agreement was concluded with the Dae Sun Shipbuilding and Engineering (Pusan) shipyard, who acted as the direct designer of ships of the Makassar type and their variant for Peru, regarding the assistance in the construction of the SIMA enterprise. It was initially planned to deliver both ships to the Peruvian Navy in 2015, but as expected, this optimistic schedule was not met.

In early 2013, the Peruvian Navy issued SIMA a contract worth about $ 60 million to build the first ship. The keel laying took place on July 12, 2013, however, actual construction was started only in the second half of 2014. The hull was launched in April 2017.

The second ship's keel was laid in December 2017.

Video of the commissioning ceremony

The LPD for Peru, like the ships of the Makassar-class, have relatively compact dimensions - a standard displacement of 7,300 tons and a maximum displacement of 11,390 tons. The ship's length is 122 meters, width 22 meters and draft 4.9 meters. The power plant consists of two diesel engines MAN B & W 9L28 / 32A with a capacity of 3000 hp, providing a speed of up to 16.5 knots. The range of navigation is up to 14,000 miles.

The ship has a small well deck, where two 23-meter LCU landing crafts may take place, and on the cargo deck - up to 14 LAV II type armored vehicles. The ship has a flight deck with two landing spots for Sikorsky UH-3 / SH-3D class helicopters and a hangar for the permanent deployment of one such helicopter. The ship accommodates 157 crew members (including 14 officers and air group personnel) and up to 400 marines. The ship can be used as a supply vessel, having the capacity to receive 636 tons of fuel, 600 tons of fresh water, 360 cubic meters of dry cargo and 136 cubic meters of food.

The armament consists in one twin 40 mm antiaircraft artillery system Breda Dardo and several 12.7-mm machine guns. In the future it is additionally planned to install two 30-mm Sentinel remotely controlled artillery systems (licensed Israeli Rafael Typhoon) and four 12.7-mm remote-controlled installations Guardian (Rafael Mini Typhoon) already ordered from the Spanish company Escribano Mechanical and Engineering.