RSN IN MARITIME INTERDICTION EXERCISE

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is participating in Exercise Maru 08, a Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) maritime interdiction exercise hosted by New Zealand from 12 to 19 Sep.

The RSN ship boarding team will be conducting boarding exercises on New Zealand ship HMNZS Resolution.

The exercise scenario involves a merchant ship suspected of carrying an illegal cargo of weapons of mass destruction. As the ship transits through the waters of Hauraki Gulf, Auckland, it is interdicted by a multinational force. The boarding team then conducts security checks on the vessel, and escorts it to the Port of Auckland for container inspections.

Other exercise participants include PSI Operational Experts Group (OEG) members from the PSI participating countries like Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

They bring with them expertise and experience in combating the proliferation of WMD to enhance the value of the exercise.

In addition, a number of non-PSI participating countries from the Asia-Pacific region are observers for this exercise.

PSI is an international effort to prevent the proliferation of WMD and WMD-related materials. Singapore has been actively supporting PSI efforts since its inception in 2003.