Visiting RSS Intrepid – Navy@Vivo

RSS Intrepid, a frigate from The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) sailed into Vivo City Promenade from 15th March to 17th March 2013, giving the public a chance to visit and explore the frigate RSS Intrepid, understanding more about her history, operations and contributions to the defence of Singapore and helping out in an international role as she was recently being deployed for counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, flying the Singapore flag high and proud by playing an important role during her tour in the Gulf of Aden.

2T2J5105

Along with my friends from the social media, we went aboard RSS Intrepid, hosted by experienced RSN personnel along with Mindef Public Affairs personnel, of a tour of RSS Intrepid. This was a mini Open House, a glimpse of the Republic of Singapore Navy modern naval ships and their capabilities. Our great friendly RSN hosts shared with us their stories during their recent counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, what they do and how the crew lives during that period. It was an eye-opener to hear first hand stories from the men and women themselves that served in the Gulf of Aden, the men and women of RSS Intrepid were our international ambassadors during that time!

2T2J5131

We were brought to a tour of the frigate RSS Intrepid, exploring various segments of the frigate –

  • Hangar
  • Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM) Deck
  • Bridge
  • Torp Store
  • Accommodation spaces for the crew
  • Wardroom
  • Combat Information Centre (CIC)
  • Dining room

Due to time and crowd constraints, there were many many enthusiastic members of the public, from the young kids to adults, wanting a piece of the action to take many many photographs and explore the RSS Intrepid. Therefore, we missed out some of the segments such as accommodation spaces and dining room. Nevertheless, we had a good time walking and exploring around, the steep ladders around the various segments of the RSS Intrepid made it fun and challenging for us to be careful when climbing up and down the flight of steps, ensuring we don’t knock our heads!

2T2J5137

At each location, our friendly and experienced RSN hosts shared with us many different stories, what they do, the equipment used and the technology that they used during the frigate operations. Being an NS man (in the Army/Infantry), we would be interested to know what our fellow counterparts in the Navy does, their equipment, weapons, how they live, how they operate and what they do. We all had a better understanding of how modern technology has helped and improved the fighting and defence capabilities of the Republic of Singapore Navy. The RSS Intrepid belongs to the Formidable-Class Frigates and you can find out more information about them here on the Republic of Singapore Navy website!

IMG_0006

During the Navy@Vivo open house, there is an important event that I was really looking forward to, the Naval Ceremonial Sunset onboard RSS Intrepid at 1915hrs. This is a naval tradition maintained by navies throughout the world. In their proud and formal military uniforms, at this moment in time, they were preparing for the lowering of the ship ensign, the harbour ensign and the jack at 1915hrs daily, accompanied by the bugle, a brass instrument. The beautiful Singapore sunset and blue evening skyline on the 15th March accompanies the naval ceremonial sunset on RSS Intrepid, witnessed by the public on board visiting RSS Intrepid and the general public around the Vivo City vicinity.

Navy@Vivo is a prelude to the Navy Open House coming soon in the month of May 2013, do keep a lookout for more information via the Navy Open House Facebook Page! Here’s some of my photographs taken during Navy Open House 2010 and my Navy Open House 2010 write up here! I am looking forward to Navy Open House 2013 and it would be my third time to Navy Open House! Stay tuned and keep a look out for Navy Open House 2013 !

I would like to thank Mindef Public Affairs for this exciting visit and the crew of RSS Intrepid for hosting and bringing us around!


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *