SINGAPORE: Three new marine rescue vessels have been added to Changi Airport’s emergency services team to strengthen its firefighting and search and rescue capabilities.

The boats were presented on Thursday October 17 during the annual crisis simulation exercise organized at the airport, attended by nearly 20 agencies and more than 200 participants.

The new vessels – Landing Craft, Command Craft and Fast Craft – will replace older vessels which will reach the end of their life by this year, Changi Airport Group (CAG), which manages the airport, said in a press release .

Each ship has a uniform maximum speed of 40 knots, compared to 20 knots for first-generation ships, which include hovercraft and inflatable boats.

CAG’s Airport Emergency Service (AES) team is responsible for handling airport accidents, firefighting, rescue operations, as well as other emergencies involving dangerous goods, alerts to the bomb and chemical or biological threats.

It operates from a sea rescue base, located off the waters of Changi Airport, which is equipped with emergency vessels and equipment to handle aircraft crashes in the waters surrounding the airport and similar accidents at sea.

The base is also the only place where hovercrafts are operated in Singapore.