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LC Bacolod City Class

The Philippine Navy ordered 2 Frank S. Besson landing ships from Trinity Marine-Moss Point Marine in 1992 as part of a US Aid Program, possibly as compensation for a US-Philippine basing agreement. Though similar to the Frank S. Besson class vessels in service with the US Army at the time, the 2 ships ordered by the Philippines were built to commerical specifications and featured no rear ramp. In its place additional troop accomodations and a helicopter deck (without a hangar) were installed during production.

The Philippines commissioned the first, the BRP Bacolod City (LC-550) in December 1993 and the second, the BRP Dagupan City (LC-551) in March 1994. There is some confusion as to the name, with at least one source mentioning LC-551's name as BRP Cagayan De Oro. Only one additional reference can be found to an operational ship of this name in the Philippine Navy, and it was also the name of a fictional Whidbey Island class landing ship dock in the equally fictional novel "Dragon Strike - The Millenium War" by Humphrey Hawksley and Simon Holberton, possibly leading to the confusion.

The Philippine Navy put the ships to use in various support duties. The vessels are designed to hold large amounts of cargo and with their shallow draft and large capacity, the ships are able to transport men and materiel to underdeveloped coastal areas. The ability to the craft to beach and then recover themselves was immensely important in the Philippines were many areas lack developed port facilities and reducing the need for small landing craft to accompany the Bacolod City class ships. They were used on numerous occasions to ferry reinforcements and rotating Army units to and from hotspots such as Mindanao and Negros. They were also used as key component of the Philippine Marine Corps Ready Force reaction elements. The ships can carry a maximum of almost 2,000 tons of cargo, but carry significantly less (around 900 tons) when operating over long ranges. The ships were also used for various training purposes (including helicopter training owing to their helicopter decks) and in various domestic and combined exercises in and around the Philippines.