The British Defence Singapore Support Unit (BDSSU) is a British naval facility located in

Sembawang Sembawang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential town located in the North Region, Singapore, North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to t ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. A remnant of a larger naval base, known as HMNB Singapore, the facility provides fuel and other supplies to

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

ships in the region, as well as those of other countries. It is the only permanent Royal Navy presence to remain at the former naval base, which is maintained by Naval Party 1022 under the auspices of the

Five Power Defence Arrangements The Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) are a series of bilateral defence relationships established by a series of multi-lateral agreements between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, all of which are Commonwe ...

(FPDA).

History

19382010

The facility has its origins in the larger HMNB Singapore (also known as HMS ''Terror''), a naval base which was established by the United Kingdom during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a cornerstone of its

Singapore strategy The Singapore strategy was a naval defence policy of the United Kingdom that evolved in a series of Military operation plan, war plans from 1919 to 1941. It aimed to deter aggression by Japan by providing a base for a fleet of the Royal Navy in ...

. In 1942, the

Battle of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...

resulted in the base being taken over by

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. However, after the surrender of Japan in 1945, the base was returned to British control. After World War II, the naval base was gradually reduced in size after Singapore gained independence in 1965 and it was ultimately handed over to Singapore in 1968. The base was then largely converted into a commercial dockyard, known as Sembawang Shipyard Pte Ltd. However, some facilities were retained and maintained by ANZUK, an alliance between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and the United Kingdom to defend Singapore and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

after the United Kingdom withdrew its forces from the

East of Suez ''East of Suez'' is a term used in United Kingdom, British military and political discussions in reference to interests east of the Suez Canal, and may or may not include the Middle East.

. ANZUK was replaced by the

(FPDA), which included both Malaysia and Singapore, in 1971. The BDSSU was one such facility maintained by the UK in order to support its FPDA commitments.

20102020

In November 2013, the Royal Navy aircraft carrier visited the facility and was equipped with humanitarian aid and supplies destined for the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in the wake of

Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that is among List of the most intense tropical cyclones, the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. Upon ...

. Over 500 tonnes of equipment and stores were supplied to the ship in what the Royal Navy described as the "most ambitious storing that a Royal Navy ship has attempted to do within 24 hours" since the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

in 1982. As a repair and logistics support facility, the BDSSU was underutilized by the Royal Navy until 2018, when the UK began a strategic return East of Suez. The consequent re-surge in activity saw the facility supporting , , and within a 12-month period — the largest deployment of British warships to the region since the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

in the 1950s. During this period, the facility provided more fuel than all of the naval bases in the United Kingdom. As part of an initiative to re-engage with the world after

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

, the UK began evaluating options for a military base in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

in 2019. Singapore was among the options under consideration. After a period where the unit was led by a civilian from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, Acting Commander James Bradshaw, formerly Commander of the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron, assumed command as Commander BDSSU in March 2017. Commander Paul Bastiaens arrived in Singapore in January 2018. In November 2020, Tim Hutchins became the unit's commander, succeeding Commander Paul Bastiaens. At the time of his appointment, the unit comprised 33 personnel, consisting of UK service personnel and civilian contractors. An average of 120 vessels had also visited the unit over the past five years — primarily from the FPDA navies and the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

— making it one of the busiest UK military-operated ports for frigate and destroyer movements. His appointment came as the unit prepared to support the 50th anniversary of Exercise Bersama Lima, a military exercise held by the FPDA.

2020present

In July 2021, the Royal Navy's

UK Carrier Strike Group 21 The United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21) was a British-led naval force that was deployed on Operation Fortis from May to December 2021. The Carrier Strike Group is seen as the beginning of the British Government's tilt towards the Indo-P ...

, led by aircraft carrier , visited Singapore on its debut operational deployment. At least one ship from the strike group, auxiliary , visited the BDSSU to resupply on fuel, food, stores and mail. Another ship,

Type 45 destroyer The Type 45 destroyer, also known as the D or ''Daring'' class, is a class of six guided-missile destroyers built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in the early 21st century. The class is primarily designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile ...

, also visited the facility after experiencing technical issues at sea. In May 2021, the Royal Navy announced that two s, and , would be permanently based in the Indo-Pacific region with the new

Type 31 frigate The Type 31 frigate, also known as the Inspiration class, and formerly known as the Type 31e frigate or General Purpose Frigate (GPF), is a class of five frigates being built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, with variants also being built ...

s joining them in future. The ships will use the BDSSU as their primary logistics hub.

References

External links