The facility is also designed to support multi-agency coordination during major incidents such as ship fires and chemical, biological and radiological emergencies, with SCDF saying the technologies would enhance situational awareness and enable faster, more agile responses during high-risk operations.
Training infrastructure includes a height rescue platform and a tunnel designed to replicate the interior of a ship, allowing marine responders to rehearse emergency scenarios in realistic conditions.
The headquarters will also support emergency preparedness programmes for maritime stakeholders, including ferry, harbour craft operators and pleasure craft companies.
Law Minister Edwin Tong officially opened the facility on Friday (Jun 19), noting that demands on maritime emergency response continue to grow alongside Singapore’s busy maritime sector.
Singapore records more than 130,000 vessel calls annually as one of the world’s busiest transshipment and bunkering hubs, he said, adding that protecting the country’s waters requires skilled officers, advanced vessels, strong partnerships and robust infrastructure.
Mr Tong, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs, pointed to a fire that broke out aboard the World Legacy cruise ship in February, when SCDF Marine Division officers worked with other agencies to manage the incident.
“This incident also underscored an underlying fact that success depends not only on the courage and skills of SCDF officers, but also on their ability to assess the situation swiftly and accurately, coordinate effectively, and exercise decisive judgment under time-critical and demanding conditions,” he said.