''Endurance'' (207) is the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the ''Endurance''-class landing platform dock of the

Republic of Singapore Navy The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is the naval service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for defending the country against any sea-borne threats, and the protection of its sea lines of communications, that would comprom ...

Development

The navy's intention to purchase the ''Endurance-''class was revealed by former Defence Minister Dr. Tony Tan during his visit to

Tuas Naval Base Tuas Naval Base (TNB) is the second naval base of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). Located at the western tip of Singapore, it occupies 0.28 km² (0.11 sq mi) of land. It was officially opened on 2 September 1994 by then Prim ...

on 3 August 1996. These ships were to replace the five ex-

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 ...

(USN) ''County''-class LSTs, which were acquired by

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, borde ...

from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the 1970s.

ST Marine Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd, doing business as ST Engineering, is a Singaporean multinational technology and engineering group in the aerospace, smart city as well as defence and public security sectors. Headquartered in Singapore, ...

was awarded the government contract to design and build the four ships – a significant milestone for the local defence and shipbuilding industries given the scale and extensiveness of the programme.

Construction and career

She was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 27 March 1997 and launched on 14 March 1998. She was commissioned on 18 March 2000 with the hull number 207. ''Endurance'' participated as both a compliant and non-compliant vessel for boarding teams during Exercise Sea Sabre in 2004 as part of the

Proliferation Security Initiative The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is a global effort that aims to stop trafficking of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their delivery systems, and related materials to and from states and non-state actors of proliferation concern. L ...

. RSS ''Endurance'' sailed to

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

to deliver emergency supplies and medical personnel to aid in the relief efforts after a tsunami. She was then joined by '' Persistence'' on 4 January 2005 and '' Endeavour'' on 16 January. RSS ''Endurance'' became the first RSN ship to circumnavigate the globe when it participated in the 6th USN

International Naval Review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, passing through both

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

and

Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boun ...

Canal in 2000.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Endurance (207) Endurance-class landing platform docks Ships built in Singapore 1998 ships