PORT SEARCH MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Decked out in full protective gear and armed with handheld detection devices, soldiers from the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosive (CBRE) Defence Group worked hand-in-hand with customs officers to conduct a thorough inspection of a shipment of goods suspected to contain weapons of mass destruction.

The scenario was part of a port search demonstration held at Pasir Panjang container port on 18 Aug, which marked the final phase of Exercise Deep Sabre the first Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) exercise held in Southeast Asia.

Singapore hosted more than 2000 personnel from the military, coast guard, customs and other agencies from 13 countries.

The container inspection sequence was a follow-up to the earlier sea phase, that saw maritime and air assets from participating countries being deployed to detect, localise and track a suspicious merchant ship transporting an illegal shipment of dual-use chemicals.

Once located, a request was made for the ship to voluntarily divert to port for a search. When the ship's master refused, flag state consent was sought, and given, for the ship to be interdicted and diverted to Singapore for a detailed search by domestic enforcement agencies.

At the port, a mobile gamma-ray scanner was first used to look into the container, before the CBRE team screened the container seams for signs of leakage. With no traces of hazardous material detected, the all-clear signal was given for customs officers to open and unload the container s contents. The CBRE team then moved in to take samples from the shipment, which was subsequently be sent to the laboratory for further investigation.

The demonstration aimed to achieve two purposes: to let the foreign delegates learn more about the latest developments and trends, and secondly, for Singapore to test out individual agencies' operating procedures and equipment, as well as inter-agency co-ordination.

"We have successfully achieved our two objectives," said Mr Teo Eng Cheong, Director-General of Singapore Customs, at the end of the demonstration.

"The agencies have worked together very well and showed that we can co-ordinate our efforts, so in a real situation, we will know our roles and how to work with one another."

Besides observing the port search sequence, participants from various countreis also visited a Port of Singapore Authority container terminal and the Port Operations Control Centre operated by the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore.

The five-day exercise concluded with a closing ceremony at Changi Naval Base on 19 Aug.