A visit to the lighthouse on Singapore’s One Tree Island

An hour by boat from Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal, lies Pulau Satumu, which by virtue of being the southernmost island of Singapore, is the southernmost point in Singapore. The island, which is some 14 km south of the nearest point on the main island of Singapore is also home to a lighthouse, Raffles Lighthouse, one of four offshore lighthouses operated by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA), the others being on Sultan Shoal, Pedra Branca and Pulau Pisang which is on Malaysian territory. Being very much one who has always taken an interest in all things nautical, I have always been drawn to lighthouses … my very first encounters with one being the one that had shone its beacon from the top of the Fullerton Building that I loved watching on the many strolls with my parents down Collyer Quay, and when the opportunity arose to catch a boat to Raffles Lighthouse, I certainly wasn’t going to give it a miss.

Pulau Satumu or "One Tree Island", the southernmost island of Singapore, is home to Raffles Lighthouse.

The visit to the lighthouse, part of a learning journey organised by the MPA in conjunction with Singapore Maritime Week was a rare opportunity. Lighthouses are protected places in Singapore and access to the islands that the lighthouses of the form that most of us have an impression of is restricted, and I certainly did not need a second asking. So, on an overcast and rather muggy day, I found myself sitting in a launch at Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal with a large group of students, as I keenly anticipated the start of a journey that would take me to the first ever operating lighthouse that I would have ever visited in Singapore, to the gentle rolling of the launch to the undulations on the surface of the sea.

Lighthouses currently operated by the MPA, as seen on a nautical chart at Raffles Lighthouse.

The ride which took a little more than an hour, provided me with an excellent opportunity to have a look at the massive changes to the waters around the south west of Singapore. What greets the eye immediately upon leaving the ferry terminal is the reclamation taking place off Pasir Panjang, part of the effort to expand the container terminals that the area now hosts. Moving off along with the launch we were in, was a double ended ramped single deck vehicle ferry with a load of construction vehicles, a sign of the frenzy of activity that is now surely taking place offshore. The Semakau landfill (perhaps more appropriately “seafill”), which has joined Pulau Semakau with Pulau Seking (a.k.a. Pulau Sakeng), is clearly visible from the start, the long building that serves as a receiving station is instantly recognisable. The first island we actually pass along the way is Pulau Bukom on which the Shell Refinery has long been a feature, and moving southeast we soon see Pulau Jong, a tiny rocky island which is topped by green vegetation, before going past Pulau Sebarok which houses petroleum products receiving and discharging facilities as is evident by the many tanks and berthing spaces on the island. It was in going around Pulau Sebarok that we catch the first sight of Raffles Lighthouse in the grey of the overcast sky … just as I had envisaged it – well, almost … there are certainly more than a single tree that one might have expected knowing the origin of the name of the island that the lighthouse was built on. Pulau Satumu, based on information found on Wikipedia, “means one tree island — sa refers to satu (one) and tumu is the Malay name for the large mangrove tree, Bruguiera confugata”.

On the launch to Pulau Satumu.

Pulau Jong.

The receiving station at Pulau Semakau, looking beyond Pulau Jong.

Pulau Sebarok.

Enroute to Raffles Lighthouse.

The stern and exposed propeller of an unladen tanker - probably undergoing sea trials ....

Raffles Lighthouse on Pulau Satumu as seen on the approach to the jetty.

Raffles Lighthouse as seen on land.

Once on land, whilst waiting to be taken up to the lighthouse, MPA was kind enough to provide the participants of the tour with lunch, and it was over lunch that I had a chat with a member of MPA’s staff. One of the interesting things he did mention was that there were holiday facilities for staff at Sultan Shoal, as well as there being rooms within the lighthouse that were reserved just to allow Ministers to take a holiday on the island. One thing we could do before going up was to have a walk around what certainly seemed like one of the few idyllic places left in Singapore, that is until the silence was punctured by the roar of jets flying above – the island being in close proximity to the live firing range used by the Airforce at the cluster of islands that lay to the west of Pulau Satumu: Pulau Senang, Pulau Pawai, and Pulau Sudong. Still, the island does exudes a charm that has been lost from the coastal areas of Singapore with a little beach and coconut grove leading to the southernmost point of Singapore.

A bench at Raffles Lighthouse.

An idyllic scene from Pulau Satumu.

The beach leading to the southernmost point of Singapore.

Pulau Senang.

It was soon time to ascend the flight of steps up to the top of the lighthouse – 107 steps we were told, 86 built into the lighthouse and a further 17 on the iron stairway up to the top – hard work even for the fit. Standing some 72 feet high, the lighthouse, the second oldest operated by Singapore (the oldest being Horsburg Lighthouse built in 1851), was built in 1855, on what was then referred to as Coney Islet, and looks none the worse for wear in spite of its age. A little bit of its history can be found in the infopedia stub on the lighthouse. At the top we were greeted by one of the two lighthouse keepers on duty Mr. Mani. The lighthouse keepers work on a rotating 12 hours shift for 10 days, returning to the mainland for 10 off days, and are involved in the upkeep of equipment and in the event that the beacon fails – would require to operate the emergency beacon run off batteries. It is quite a quiet and lonely life for ten days … something that is probably hard to imagine in the fast pace world that we live in today. Lighthouses, which have always been important aids to navigation, has with the advent of GPS and electronic navigation means, been rendered somewhat obsolete. However, these are still around and serve an improtant function as a backup in event that electronic means onboard ship fail.

The stairway to the top ...

A window at the bottom of the lighthouse.

A pressurised vapour kerosene mantle burner system that was employed at the turn of the 20th Century at a landing just before the top.

Up the last flight of stairs.

The beacon at the top of the lighthouse.

A radar reflector.

Mr Mani, one of the two lighthouse keepers on duty showing us around at the top.

All too soon, it was time to leave, the launch taking a different route that took us to Marina South, with a stop off Marina South to watch a demo by MPA’s fire-fighting vessel Api-Api, throwing a spray of sea water with its two monitors. Soon back on dry land, we were to be greeted by a different spray altogether – one of a shower that was threatening to come down on us the whole day … fortunately we had made our trip to Raffles Lighthouse and back, with pleasant memories of a rare foray to an otherwise off-limits southernmost part of Singapore.

A milestone in Singapore’s shipbuilding history: the launch of the RSS Fearless in 1995

This eighteenth of February marks the fifteenth anniversary of a milestone in Singapore’s naval shipbuilding history: the launch of the Fearless Class Patrol Vessels. The 55 metre waterjet propelled vessels were launched by the wife of the then Deputy Prime Minister, Mrs Lee Hsien Loong, better known to us as Madam Ho Ching in 1995 at the Singapore Technologies Shipbuilding and Engineering (STSE) shipyard (now known as ST Marine) in Benoi Road. The then state-of-the-art vessels represented a breakthrough in Singapore’s naval ship design and shipbuilding – these were the first missile equipped combat vessels that were designed and constructed indigenously. I suppose there isn’t much fanfare these days about the Patrol Vessels, possibly because they have been somewhat overshadowed by the acquisition of the larger and more heavily armed Stealth Frigates, and perhaps they have intentionally been forgotten so as not to remind us of the tragic events surrounding the third vessel in the class – the RSS Courageous.

Cover of the ST Marine Brochure for the Patrol Vessel.

The Fearless class vessels, which are still in operation, and are equipped with a naval gun and surface-to-air missiles, and feature a locally designed round bilge hull form fitted with a twin engine propulsion system, were one of the first naval combat craft to feature waterjet propulsion, providing the vessel with excellent manoeuvrability. A total of twelve units were built by STSE, the first six of which were equipped with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities being fitted with torpedoes and a hull-mounted sonar [Fearless (Pennant No. 94), Brave (95), Courageous (96), Gallant (97), Resilience (98) and Unity (99)]. The remaining six vessels in the class were not fitted out with ASW capabilities [Resilience (82), Unity (83), Sovereignty (84), Justice (85), Freedom (86) and Independence (87)].

RSS Fearless off Horsburgh Lighthouse/Pedra Branca in 2003, during search and rescue operations following the collision of RSS Courageous (Source: http://www.mindef.gov.sg).

Sunday Times report dated 19 Feb 1995 on the launching of the RSS Fearless.

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The champagne bottle that did not break …

Traditionally, the naming (or christening) of a ship is done by breaking a bottle of champagne, and in the case of Naval tradition, the naming usually is carried out during the launching of the ship (when the ship is launched or lowered into the water for the very first time). This can be a spectacular event, as in the case of where the ship is side launched. In the case of RSS Fearless, the launching was only carried out ceremonially by lowering the vessel slowly in a syncrolift (a lift that lifts and lowers ships in and out of water), and the momentous event was to be remembered not for this, but for the fact that the champagne bottle refused to be broken. It finally yielded after several attempts, but as superstition would have it, it is bad luck if the champagne bottle does not break the first time. Perhaps this held true for the superstitious as the RSS Fearless was the lead ship of its class, and the third ship in the class, the RSS Courageous was meet with an accident which resulted in a tragic loss of lives.

Mdm. Ho Ching lets fly with the Champagne bottle ... but it doesn't break!

A second attempt at breaking the bottle - that failed too! The bottle finally broke after several repeated attempts.

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Collision of RSS Courageous with ANL Indonesia on 3 January 2003

The RSS Courageous was involved in a collision with a container ship the ANL Indonesia off Pedra Branca on 3 January 2003. The collision sheared-off the stern section of the Courageous, and of the 44 crew onboard, eight were injured and another four, servicewomen resting in the aft section which was sheared-off, lost their lives. Two officers in command of the vessel at the time of the collision were subsequently found negligent, as their decision to steer the vessel to port and across the bow of the ANL Indonesia contravened Regulation 14 of the navigation rules of the road, the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (COLREGS).

Chart showing location of collision and the path taken by RSS Courageous (Source: Wikipedia).

The sheared-off stern section of the RSS Courageous being lifted off the seabed onto a barge on 14 Jan 2003 (Source: http://www.mindef.gov.sg).

That the vessel was able to remain afloat despite the loss of buoyancy of the sheared-off stern section and the breach in the watertight integrity of several other compartments (albeit with the quick action taken by the crew and supporting Police Coastguard officers in damage control) is a testament to the survivability of the vessel.

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