PH Navy’s BRP Antonio Luna damaged amid exercise in Malaysia

The Philippine Navy on Tuesday said its BRP Antonio Luna has incurred damage during its deployment in Malaysia for the Maritime Training Activity (MTA) MALPHI LAUT 2025. 

In a press briefing, Philippine Navy spokesperson Captain Marissa Arlene Martinez said the damage on the freeboard of BRP Antonio Luna was “superficial” and “minimal.”

“After the harbor phase was the sea phase already. So, when she was carefully maneuvering in a narrow space, and I would like to highlight a narrow space, unfortunately, it incurred superficial damage to its freeboard,” she said.

“When I say superficial damage, I mean to say it's an outermost portion or outermost portion of the surface of the freeboard and that is in the left side, port side,” she added.

On August 27, the Philippine Navy and the Royal Malaysian Navy launched their exercise MALPHI LAUT 2025 to enhance their bilateral defense cooperation.

Courtesy: Royal Malaysian Navy

BRP Antonio Luna with Malaysian counterparts joined the Action Speed Tactical Trainer (ASTT), which provided hands-on operator introduction training and simulated wargaming.

Martinez pointed out that the incident is just one of the many operational risks that a ship faces.

“I would just like to highlight also that immediately after that incident, the ship was mission capable and was able to participate in all serials of the at-sea events,” she said.

Asked if the concerned command officer will be reprimanded over the incident, Martinez said it will depend on the assessment.

“Usually, if there's an incident whether it's minor or major, there will always be an assessment and investigation that will be conducted. So, on your question about the commanding officer, we'll just wait for the facts and the analysis,” she said. —VAL, GMA Integrated News