January 27, 2025
SINGAPORE – The four divers, wearing wetsuits and using rebreathers, slipped silently into the water with their sub-machine guns and a device shaped like a large vacuum cleaner. They were on a mission to rescue the captain and crew of a ship in the distance.
The divers were members of the Singapore Police Coast Guard’s (PCG) elite Special Task Squadron (STS), who had been activated when the ship’s captain made a distress call after two armed pirates boarded the vessel in Singapore waters.
Although the ship’s crew managed to hide, the captain had been “taken hostage” in the ship’s engine room.
The pirates prowling the ship’s upper deck appeared to have the high ground.
But the STS operators were not going in “blind”, as shown in a demonstration to the media on Jan 22, at the PCG’s Brani Regional Base.
They were supported by other STS operators who had deployed the Diodon, a rugged amphibious drone, which served as their eyes.
Members of the Police Coast Guard Special Task Squadron throwing a Diodon drone into the water during a media
demonstration on Jan 22. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
Designed with two floating elements, the 2kg drone is unsinkable, and can be steered to turn itself upright to fly away, even if it lands upside down in the sea.
The simulated pirate boarding was done on the Boarding and Search Trainer, a training platform for PCG officers in the shape of a large ship.
As the divers made their way underwater, the grey Diodon flew closer to the anchored ship to get a better view of the activities of the “pirates”.
The French-made Diodon drone, which has a range of about 4km, is touted as a “significant advancement” in maritime law enforcement and security operations, and is aimed at enhancing the STS’ capabilities.
Diodon systems and technology are used by armies and navies in Denmark, Britain, France and the Netherlands, according to the company’s website.
The sharper, real-time footage that the Diodon provides improves the STS tactical commanders’ situational awareness and decision-making process. The information is then relayed to the divers.
Besides being able to take off from the water’s surface, the Diodon drone is able to flip over if it lands in the water upside down. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
With the help of the Diodon in the Jan 22 media demonstration, the STS divers were able to emerge undetected on the side of the ship’s hull.
The drone is currently being evaluated by the Home Team Science and Technology Agency’s Robotics, Automation and Unmanned Systems Centre of Expertise (HTX Raus CoE).
Another piece of new specialised equipment – a vacuum cleaner-shaped device called the Spyder – is now operationally in use.
While the Diodon drone enhances real-time aerial surveillance, the Spyder hull-climbing robot helps with tactical ship boarding and covert insertion.
Superintendent of Police Lee Ting Wei, PCG’s head of operations and security, said STS leverages technology and innovation to carry out maritime special operations under challenging conditions.
“These devices allow STS to gain tactical advantages to improve safety and success for complex and risky maritime special operations,” he said.
The Spyder, which weighs roughly 35kg, uses magnetic tracks to “walk up” the side of the ship’s hull.
Developed by HTX Raus CoE, the wireless-operated Spyder took about three minutes to reach the edge of the ship’s upper deck, where it deployed a hook equipped with a caving ladder.
Members of the Police Coast Guard’s Special Task Squadron deploying the Spyder hull-climbing robot as they prepared to board a ship during a media demonstration on Jan 22, 2025. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
Cameras on the Spyder improve operational safety, as they allow an operator to monitor the hook’s engagement and deployment in real time, as well as provide close surveillance.
The Straits Times understands that before using the Spyder, covert ship boarding was more tedious and required operators to manually place a hook attached to a pole on the side of the ship – a task that is demanding in rough seas.
In the media demonstration, the four divers were able to stealthily climb the caving ladder at the side of the ship and regroup on the upper deck with their sub-machine guns at the ready.
The captain was later rescued when the surprised “pirates” were subdued by the STS team.
- Zaihan Mohamed Yusof is senior crime correspondent at The Straits Times.