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Under the sea: Naval combat divers show what's it like beneath our waves

After a crowd-thrilling freefall out of the clear blue sky at the National Day Parade this year, our naval combat divers show The Straits Times what it is like beneath the waves where the water is green and you can barely see a thing

For the first time, the Naval Diving Unit has allowed The Straits Times to try components of its maritime assault course.
Clothed in black for stealth and carrying highly accurate and rugged Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifles, a team of naval combat divers emerge from the water during a demonstration of their "over-the-beach" capabilities. With weapons ready to engage
Clothed in black for stealth and carrying highly accurate and rugged Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifles, a team of naval combat divers emerge from the water during a demonstration of their "over-the-beach" capabilities. With weapons ready to engage threats, they complete their mission and then withdraw out to sea in a waiting boat under a hail of machine-gun fire. ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
Clothed in black for stealth and carrying highly accurate and rugged Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifles, a team of naval combat divers emerge from the water during a demonstration of their "over-the-beach" capabilities. With weapons ready to engage
Above: ST photojournalist Alphonsus Chern (right) practising an air-sharing drill with his instructor, Master Warrant Officer Seck Wai Kong, PHOTO: MINDEF
Clothed in black for stealth and carrying highly accurate and rugged Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifles, a team of naval combat divers emerge from the water during a demonstration of their "over-the-beach" capabilities. With weapons ready to engage
During the Pool Competency test, Mr Chern has his dive mask and air regulator removed by an instructor, who then grabs his air tanks and spins him around to disorientate him. PHOTO: MINDEF
Clothed in black for stealth and carrying highly accurate and rugged Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifles, a team of naval combat divers emerge from the water during a demonstration of their "over-the-beach" capabilities. With weapons ready to engage
Mr Chern waving at the underwater cameraman as he makes his way along the jackstay course just off the shoreline. In the murky, green water, visibility is poor. PHOTO: MINDEF
Clothed in black for stealth and carrying highly accurate and rugged Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifles, a team of naval combat divers emerge from the water during a demonstration of their "over-the-beach" capabilities. With weapons ready to engage
Mr Chern jumping 3m into the dive pool, simulating how naval combat divers enter the water from a hovering helicopter. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Clothed in black for stealth and carrying highly accurate and rugged Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifles, a team of naval combat divers emerge from the water during a demonstration of their "over-the-beach" capabilities. With weapons ready to engage
ST photojournalist Alphonsus Chern attempting to lift a 105kg tyre as part of the Naval Diving Unit's Maritime Assault Course, where divers take turns to flip the tyre a distance of 80m. PHOTO: MINDEF
Clothed in black for stealth and carrying highly accurate and rugged Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifles, a team of naval combat divers emerge from the water during a demonstration of their "over-the-beach" capabilities. With weapons ready to engage
With three other journalists, Mr Chern (second from left) carrying a stretcher with an 80kg casualty on it. This is part of the Maritime Assault Course which advanced naval combat divers undergo to train for combat fitness and hone their operational skills. PHOTO: MINDEF
Clothed in black for stealth and carrying highly accurate and rugged Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifles, a team of naval combat divers emerge from the water during a demonstration of their "over-the-beach" capabilities. With weapons ready to engage
Mr Chern trying his hand at shooting one of the weapons in the Naval Diving Unit's arsenal - the Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifle, an extremely accurate weapon designed with an "over-the-beach" capability which allows the user to fire it immediately after emerging from the water. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Clothed in black for stealth and carrying highly accurate and rugged Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifles, a team of naval combat divers emerge from the water during a demonstration of their "over-the-beach" capabilities. With weapons ready to engage
Alphonsus Chern Executive Photojournalist
Updated
Sep 21, 2018, 12:02 PM
Published
Sep 17, 2018, 05:00 AM
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The murky waters of the Johor Strait, just off the Sembawang Camp jetty, would not rate high on any list of dive destinations.

Sandwiched between the coasts of Singapore and Malaysia, the channel is muddied by the silt of land reclamation projects and the contents of over a dozen rivers which empty into it.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 17, 2018, with the headline Under the sea: Naval combat divers show what's it like beneath our waves. Subscribe

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