Go on a Virtual Tour on the LST RSS Endurance with Me

So RSS Endurance, the Landing Ship Tank (LST), pennant number 207 was berthed outside Vivo City for exhibition in the previous week. If you are curious, the names and pennant numbers of the other LSTs are listed below:

RSS Resolution 208, RSS Persistence 209, RSS Endeavour 210

For me, I was super happy to go back because I used to be a sailor onboard RSS Resolution and the LST was my second home. I was looking forward to meeting my ex-colleagues and revisiting the ship but this time as a member of the media.

When you board the ship, this is what you should see. The bow of the ship. The sunset ceremony will commence here where the flag will be lowered. There is also a helipad on the ship for helicopters to land. During missions, the deck is kept clear and free from obstacles and for leisure purposes, the crew run around the deck.

As we proceed down the stairs, we will pass this level, the level where cabins are. As you can see there are double and triple decks if you can call it that. Some say that claustrophobic people will not be able to ta han staying onboard a ship. I beg to differ. It's all about getting used to it. Kids have slept before on double decks, so why can't adults? Having cleaned our cabins before, from the sight of this clean cabin, I can visualise all the hard work that has gone into keeping it spick and span. 

Let's proceed to the tank deck. Why is it called the tank deck? It's the bottom most level of the ship and it gets it names because tanks can be stored and strapped down at this level. Here, there is also the well dock. 

Celebrities Ebi, Patricia and Suhaimi pose for a photograph

The well dock is the further end of the tank deck where there are wooden planks. When there are no Fast Craft Utility (FCU) onboard, the well dock is usually not flooded and is dry. During sailing, it can be used as a platform for playing soccer.

See these navy crew here? They are the ones who help to secure the FCUs when they dock. I was one of those helping out with this role during one of the previous Navy open houses. It is by no means an easy job doing it for half a day.

And we commenced on our trip on the FCU. Off we go!

Us posing for a photo onboard the FCU. I like the feel of the wind blowing at us as the FCU sails.

Latin, me (Samuel), Dawn, Zelene (In sequence)

Now to the other levels of the ship. This is the briefing room where we muster for out daily meetings. Here, there is the safety board amongst other boards.

When you see these plaques, you are on the level where the wardroom, the officers country and the gym are located. The wardroom is where the officers entertain important figures and have their meals etc.

Is there a place for the sailors to keep fit? Of course, there's the gym.

Now, we shall proceed to the upper deck. 

This is the bridge. This corner here is our Comms corner, where the Communicators are stationed to report to the officers with regards to communication with the harbour and other ships.

This is the table for the Nav (Navigators) team to do up their charts. 

The crew of every ship have a strong sense of belonging to their ship.

These machinery are mostly operated by the Nav team and supervised by officers.

This is the chair for the Commanding Officer (CO) of the ship. Only during public occasions are civilians allowed to sit on this.

What's this? It's one of our Comms' equipment, a lantern which we use to flash signals to other ships. Yup, that's where morse code comes into play.

Yes, there's also a 0.5 machine gun installed here. During our training days, we had enough fun learning how to use this, so I am not going to touch this.

Hope you have learned more about the LST and find her more interesting now.