Coronavirus pandemic

Daily navy patrols carry on amid tighter measures

RSN sailors see family less, but they recognise need for sacrifices to maintain maritime security

Above: Third Sergeant Nicholas Goh keeping watch as littoral mission vessel RSS Sovereignty conducts patrols in Singapore's waters. PHOTO: MINDEF
Above: Third Sergeant Nicholas Goh keeping watch as littoral mission vessel RSS Sovereignty conducts patrols in Singapore's waters. Left: Major Jagatheesh Krishnan (second from left) and 3SG Goh (second from right) in the Integrated Command Centre of
Above: Major Jagatheesh Krishnan (second from left) and 3SG Goh (second from right) in the Integrated Command Centre of RSS Sovereignty during a patrol. PHOTO: MINDEF

During the ongoing circuit breaker period, Republic of Singapore Navy sailors have had to adopt more precautionary measures, such as staying in base before and during their duty to reduce the risk of infection, since earlier this month.

For the littoral mission vessel (LMV) crew doing daily patrols in Singapore's waters, this means seeing their families less often.

But the sailors recognise that such adjustments and sacrifices are necessary, as maintaining maritime security is important for food and other essential items to come into Singapore, said Major Jagatheesh Krishnan, commanding officer of LMV RSS Sovereignty.

"This flow of trade is particularly important, as most of what we need to survive as a nation is still brought in by sea - be it food we consume, fuel to generate electricity or even the face masks for our protection," said Maj Jagatheesh, 39, in an e-mail interview.

For food, 99 per cent of rice and 84 per cent of fish imports arrive in Singapore by sea, he said.

"We rely on the sea, and this is where the navy comes in, to both defend against maritime threats and ensure our critical access to sea lines of communication."

As a critical function, maritime security operations - along with others such as island defence and protection of key installations - will continue even as some other activities involving operationally ready national servicemen have been deferred, said the Ministry of Defence on March 31.

Units performing these roles have been separated into different groups to ensure operations are not interrupted.

RSS Sovereignty comes under the 182 Squadron, which comprises LMVs and is part of the Maritime Security Task Force.

Among the duties of LMVs is to conduct daily operational patrols to deter maritime threats in Singapore's waters alongside other maritime agencies.

Maj Jagatheesh said the key challenge faced by his squadron is keeping the crew safe while continuing to perform their duties.

During this period of uncertainty, it is even more important for the navy to safeguard Singapore's waters, he said.

Duties used to be rotated more often, which meant the crew could see their families every few days. But with the current circuit breaker measures, longer duty periods mean they do not see their families up to a few weeks at a time.

He is thankful for his wife, who works as a teacher and has to prepare home-based learning materials for her students while looking after their two children, aged 10 and 14.

"I am grateful for the understanding and support given by our families which allow us to focus on our task without distractions."

He believes the morale of the crew remains high, and crew members have been allowed to do video-conferencing at designated areas to help them connect with their loved ones.

Third Sergeant Nicholas Goh, 22, who is a deck and weapons specialist on the ship, said that when he told his parents he had to spend several weeks away from home, they were very supportive.

"They... even sent me to base that day. My mum also offered to send additional supplies to the base if I needed them."

The full-time national serviceman said regular wipe-downs of the ship are now done as a precautionary measure. Personnel are also to report sick even if they have very mild symptoms.

His message to Singaporeans: "Please stay home! Do not panic buy, because the way I see it, the ships come by every day."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 13, 2020, with the headline Daily navy patrols carry on amid tighter measures. Subscribe