Get up close and personal with Singapore's Navy from May 29 to Jun 1

SINGAPORE - Residents of Singapore can start their June holidays with an educational activity courtesy of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).

From May 29 to Jun 1, 2014, the public will get a chance to tour the Endurance-class Landing Ship Tank (LST), RSS Persistence, and get up-close to a Super-Puma helicopter, - both docked at the Vivocity Promenade - as well as a Protector Unmanned Surface Vehicle, a ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and a Light Strike Vehicle Mark II on board the LST. Some visitors will also get to ride on board RSN's Fast Craft Utility.

The event, Navy@Vivo, was launched by the Chief of Navy Rear-Admiral Ng Chee Peng this morning and is part of RSN's community outreach effort. This is the third time the RSN has held a showcase at Vivocity.

Organising chairman of the event, Military Expert 7 (ME7) Andy Tay hoped that Navy@Vivo would allow the public to gain a better understanding of the RSN.

"We are very excited to have this opportunity to share with the public what the Navy does, particularly the roles that we play in ensuring maritime security in our local waters and in overseas missions," said ME7 Tay.

Apart from exhibitions and video screenings on how RSN ensures maritime security, the public will be able to witness the conduct of a ceremonial sunset - a long-standing naval tradition - at 7pm daily during Navy@Vivo. There will also be an exhibition within VivoCity where the public can learn more about the capabilities of RSN's ships and try their hand at disarming a simulated underwater explosive. There will also be opportunities for the public to take photographs with members of the Naval Diving Unit.

Limited tickets are still available through lucky draws at the exhibition at Vivocity as all of the ship tickets opened for online balloting from May 6 have been snapped up by the public. More information can be found on the Singapore Navy Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/singaporenavy).

spanaech@sph.com.sg