Clean toilets, ‘surprisingly’ comfy beds: Staying overnight on one of Singapore navy’s largest ships

SHOALWATER BAY, Australia: Cutting through the waves on a bright Saturday (Nov 9) morning were two high-speed naval vessels. 

As they came to a halt near the beach at Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland state, Singaporean and Australian troops disembarked swiftly.

They are part of over 1,900 personnel involved in this year’s Exercise Trident: A bilateral military exercise between the two countries, and the final phase of the annual Exercise Wallaby, the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) largest overseas exercise. 

The fast craft, from the Republic of Singapore Navy, would later ferry not just troops but CNA and other news agencies.

To get to what’s called the Fast Craft Utility, members of the media, including this reporter, had to trudge along the beach, trying not to fall as our civilian shoes sank deep into the sand.

Only with water reaching up to shins did we reach the vessel, which typically transports SAF soldiers to support their training on offshore islands.