I am very glad that Horsburgh Lighthouse and Raffles Lighthouse have attracted the interest of Singaporeans.

Mr Harry Ong Heng Poh raised some concerns about opening the lighthouses to tourists (Consider lighthouses' safety and access aspects for tourists, July 3).

With regard to currents and monsoon seasons, there are always a few periods in a day when the currents are slack, and there are many months of the year when winds are low. Thus, the lighthouse visits can always be planned to avoid high currents and the monsoon seasons.

In 2012, I was one of the lucky few who got a chance to visit Pulau Satumu, where Raffles Lighthouse is located, during an experimental trip organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

Since then, there have been many MPA learning journey trips opened to the public, organised and executed safely by the well-trained and experienced staff. This shows that the infrastructure on the island is safe enough for visitors, and it can always be upgraded to accommodate larger groups if necessary.

I believe Mr Ong, by bringing up safety and security concerns, means well for potential visitors to the lighthouses.

Raffles Lighthouse is well within Singapore's territorial waters.

The security risk of visiting the lighthouse is very low, and our waters are well patrolled by our coast guard and navy.

Horsburgh Lighthouse might be a few hours farther east, but I believe we can arrange safe and enriching trips to both lighthouses.

But why open up the lighthouses for tourist visits only?

One must visit the sites and hear the stories from our very enthusiastic MPA tour guides to understand why it is worth the visit to our beautiful lighthouses.

Words are not enough to describe my experience of standing on the 150-year-old Raffles Lighthouse on the southern tip of Singapore, overlooking the busiest trade route that defined our maritime nation.

Tan Teng Han