PREP FOR PIRATE PATROL

By the time you read this, the crew of frigate RSS Tenacious will be far away from home in the Gulf of Aden (GoA) beating back pirates. This is the story of how they got themselves ready for the rigours of pirate patrol. 

Step onto RSS Tenacious and it is clear that this ship - and her crew - are on a mission. On the flight deck, there are people fussing over the naval helicopter. Below deck, crew members bustle about - each with an intense, focused look on their face.

On the bridge, the navigation team is preparing to steer the 114m-long warship out of its berth at Changi Naval Base. They are about to start a week-long training sortie to make sure that everyone knows their tasks well and everything on board works like it should.

Setting the stage

It is also the last training sortie for the ship and the last time that the Task Group will come together to perfect their drills before sailing to the GoA.

On board, there are soldiers from all three Services working together to execute the pirate-busting operations. Cooperation is most visible on the flight deck - the sailors and the airmen are equally responsible for the safe launch and recovery of the naval helicopter.

"As Air Force Engineers (AFEs), we primarily do maintenance work. During operations, the sailors handle other aspects such as refuelling and marshalling," explained Military Expert (ME) 3-3 Daniel Mah, the overall in-charge of the AFE team.

Speaking to the combined crew, Commander Task Group Colonel (COL) Ken Cheong said: "We are going for ops; it's not training. Either we get it right (the first time) or we fail." He is joined by COL Ricky Hi who will command the second half of the deployment.

That was in end-February, about two weeks away from their departure for the GoA. For the crew, that two weeks seemed like eons away. After months of training and multiple retrofits to the ship, they are raring to go.

Sea ballet

For months, the crew has been training to make sure that the ship responds as one to any distress call. Having gone through their drills countless times, their actions during the training sortie are like those of a tightly choreographed dance.

While they are in the GoA, the ship will be tasked to patrol specific sectors and the naval helicopter will go out on daily flights to skim the sea surface for suspicious vessels.

On top of these routine patrols, the crew has to be ready to respond to distress calls from merchant ships. In those situations, the ship's ability to launch the helicopter at a moment's notice is critical. Any delay could mean a vessel being held for ransom by pirates and the crew's lives being put in jeopardy.

The Ship Security Unit (SSU) also stands ready at all times to investigate suspicious vessels with their Rigid-Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs). At the heart of the frigate, sailors operate advanced sensors from the Combat Information Centre (CIC) to map out a situational picture of the sea around the warship. At any one time, they will know who is out there and each vessel's direction of travel.

All this goes on on top of the hum of daily shipboard operations. In the galley, the chefs churn out three meals daily and light snacks for crew working late. In the Machinery Control Room, the engineers literally keep the ship humming along - monitoring her systems and rectifying faults when they arise. In the Bridge, the navigation department keeps the ship on the right course.

It is a floating mini-town that never sleeps.

Ship shape

It is not just the people who have had to keep their skills sharp. The ship, too, has to undergo some modifications of her own.

One of the most apparent physical changes to RSS Tenacious is the addition of an aft-side door which allows crew members to get on and off sea boats more easily.

Two more sea boats - large 9.2m RHIBs - have also been added. To launch these additional craft, a massive crane is installed on the missile deck of the ship. This means that some of missile launcher tubes have to be removed to make way for the crane and RHIBs' cradles.

These are modifications which the first frigate to be sent to the GoA - RSS Intrepid - also carried.

The difference? The RHIBs which are in the GoA now have armour plates installed to
protect the boarding team as they approach suspected pirates.

Not a drill

With so many things to do but only 151 people on board, some of the crew have to take on more roles. One such crew member is ME2-1 Amar s/o Ramasaran who doubles up as a Flight Deck Marshaller (FDM).

"It's an interesting role, something I've never done," said ME2-1 Amar. If you think that all he does is stand on deck and wave helicopters off, think again. To qualify as an FDM, he had to go to the Air Force to learn about basic helicopter operations. Then came learning the hand signals to communicate with the pilots before a qualification test.

He operates the ship's radio and communications systems, and holds the appointment of Communications Systems Supervisor. "Usually I sit in the small radio room to do my job. As an FDM, I get to see how the ship literally comes together (to launch the naval helicopter)...and gain a better understanding of what we will be doing (in the GoA)."

"Sometimes, birds can suddenly land on deck. As the FDMs, we have to wave off the helicopter in those situations." Any object on deck could potentially be churned and sucked into the aircraft's rotor system.

At sea, that could mean disastrous downtime as the helicopter is being repaired. The helicopter functions as an "eye" for its mothership and is often the first responder to distress calls because of its speed and abilities.

For ME2-1 Shaun Delano who is in charge of compiling a tactical picture of threats in the air, on the water surface and sub-surface, operating in the GoA means looking out for different things.

"We're not expecting the pirates to operate aircraft and submarines, so this is a different type of mission where we are very focused on detecting surface threats." This is the second deployment for ME2-1 Delano, who also took part in the 2012 deployment.

He added: "The initial stages were taxing - switching from conventional warfare to
counter-piracy patrols - but we picked up fast. And it shows; this is the third sea sortie and we are way more comfortable now."

This is home

To meet the demands of counter-piracy patrols, the ship is retrofitted to accommodate 151 people. Usually, frigates are manned by a ship crew of 72 and an air detachment of 19.

This means more bunks and lockers are added. Basic gym facilities, too, are added for the crew to keep fit while at sea.

Said ME1-1 Jaclyn Tan: "While the frigate is smaller than home base, it does have space for us to move around and it's quite comfortable." Trained as a medic, she is part of the team that takes care of the crew's health.

"Before the sail, we did a lot of medical preparation," she said. This included refreshing the ship crew on life-saving skills and making sure that the crew were medically fit for the deployment.

While shipboard life is cosy in a living-in-close-quarters sense, the crew are clear that it will not be smooth sailing all the way. "We are expecting rough seas when we traverse the Indian Ocean," said ME2-2 Khoo Lih Uei. As part of the navigation team, ME2-2 Khoo and his team have studied the route extensively.

"At the roughest patches, we are expecting sea states of four or even five." At those sea states, even a ship as large as the RSS Tenacious will be pitching and rolling. It is not a comfortable place to be in for those who are more used to dry land.

But that is shipboard life, said ME2-2 Khoo. "We just have to secure everything down so that things won't drop and people won't get tripped up, he added nonchalantly. Having been in the Navy for the past 14 years, the 34-year-old has had his share of long deployments, although this will be his longest yet.

Like everyone on this three-month deployment, ME2-2 Khoo will miss his family and loved ones. Even more so, since he is expecting a newborn in August. And he's not the only one. ME4-3 Soh Teck Soon is father to three young children aged nine, seven and five.

"Leaving them and my wife behind is the toughest part of this mission. But I'm also proud to be working with the team and seeing everyone come together (for the mission)."

Ready to go

Nearing the tail-end of the sea sortie, RSS Tenacious was visited by Head Naval Operations Rear-Admiral (RADM) Jackson Chia who observed the crew carrying out boarding drills and naval helicopter operations. He will oversee the deployment as Commander Task Force. RSS Tenacious left for the GoA on 17 Mar and will return in July this year.