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The Naval Diving Unit (NDU) began with the British government's directive to withdraw her forces east of the Suez in 1971. Prior to that, a unit called the Far East Fleet Clearance Diving Team was operating from the old Terror Camp premises where NDU now stands. This unit basically supported the strong British naval presence in Singapore.
When the Royal Navy left on 12 December 1971, the Far East Fleet Clearance Diving Team was replaced by the SAF Diving Center which comprised a small group of local divers tasked to look after the naval assets belonging to the then Maritime Command. In 1975, the SAF Diving Center became officially known as the Naval Diving Unit.
During the initial period, the task of NDU was mainly to carry out simple underwater tasks like hull checks for the Fleet. Being the only public diving capability available in Singapore, divers were and still are called upon to conduct civilian diving recovery tasks.
The NDU of today has its origins in the mid 80's when it was realised that underwater explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and were keeping our waterways open were vital. The RSN Fleet had also grown significantly and more divers are now needed to support ships in harbour and on over seas deployments.
While the NDU of the 90's is almost totally unrecognisable from that of it's humble beginnings, traces of the history of NDU can still be found, such as the British 10-man chamber now with the Naval Medical and Hyperbaric Center.
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Last updated on 06 Nov 2007
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