S'PORE'S READINESS TO BE TESTED AT EXERCISE NORTHSTAR 2011

To test the readiness and coordination of agencies in responding to civil emergencies, a series of large-scale deployment exercises, codenamed Exercise Northstar, will be held from 10 to 25 Nov.

This was revealed at a joint press conference held at the Headquarters of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on 2 Nov.

The exercise, co-led by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and SCDF, will simulate a massive terrorist attack at multiple locations in Singapore.

One scenario is a tanker-hijacking, and will feature assets from the Singapore Armed Forces such as patrol vessels and Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats intercepting a hijacked tanker. Troops from the Special Operations Task Force will also be involved in a storming operation.

This scenario, together with a series of simulated maritime incidents from 21 to 25 Nov, will test and validate the National Maritime Security System (NMSS). The NMSS is a new framework that brings together various maritime agencies to deal with maritime threats in a coordinated manner.

Rear-Admiral (RADM) Tan Wee Beng, Chief of Staff - Naval Staff, from the Republic of Singapore Navy, elaborated on the NMSS at the press conference, saying that the system "aims to promote information sharing, situation awareness, decision-making and operational coordination among our maritime security agencies".

"It will strengthen Singapore's ability at the national level to detect maritime security threats as early as possible," said RADM Tan, who is also the co-director of this year's Exercise Northstar.

Besides the sea demonstration, Exercise Northstar will include a ground deployment exercise conducted by SCDF at Jurong Island on 25 Nov. It will feature a chlorine leak scenario at a chemical company and vehicle explosions caused by improvised explosive devices, and SCDF will perform the necessary evacuation procedures.

Other agencies involved in on-site incident mitigation and off-site crisis management during Exercise Northstar include the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Land Transport Authority and Singapore Police Force.

This year's exercise is the eighth in the series since it was started in 1997.