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

Sembawang Sembawang is a planning area and residential town located in the North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to the south, Yishun to the southeast, Woodlands to the west and the Straits of Jo ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. 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 United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

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 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 the Far East, able to in ...

. In 1942, the

Battle of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...

resulted in the base being taken over by Japan. 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,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and the United Kingdom to defend Singapore and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

after the United Kingdom withdrew its forces from the East of Suez. 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 (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in the wake of

Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...

. 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 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 , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

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 "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...

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

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

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 maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

— 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 frigates joining them in future. The ships will utilise the BDSSU as their primary logistics hub.

References

External links