RSN Hosts Multinational Search and Rescue Exercise To Strengthen Cooperation and Safety of Submariners

RSN’s Fleet Commander and Exercise Director, RADM Kwan Hon Chuong (eighth from right), with representatives from participating countries at the Opening Ceremony of Exercise Pacific Reach 2025.

Fast Rescue Craft deployed from MV Swift Rescue to rescue the simulated distressed submariners during the mass evacuation exercise.

RSN medical personnel attending to a simulated injured personnel as part of the exercise conduct.

Deep Search and Rescue 6 (DSAR 6), a submarine rescue vehicle for transferring submariners from a distressed submarine.

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is hosting Exercise Pacific Reach, a multinational Submarine Escape and Rescue (SMER) exercise, from 15 to 29 September 2025. Exercise Pacific Reach 2025 aims to develop regional SMER capabilities, strengthen interoperability in submarine rescue operations, and enhance the safety of submariners at sea. This is the third time that the RSN is hosting the exercise, having previously done so in 2000 and 2010. This year’s exercise is the ninth in the series, and the largest edition to date.

This year’s exercise will see the participation of 17 countries with approximately 600 participants, comprising Australia, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Thailand, Türkiye, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, as well as the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO). The RSN will participate in the exercise with an Invincible-class submarine, RSS Invincible, and a submarine support rescue vessel, MV Swift Rescue, embarked with a submarine rescue vehicle, Deep Search and Rescue Six (DSAR 6)^[1]. Other participating assets include submarines from Japan, JS Kuroshio, and the Republic of Korea, ROKS Shin Dol-seok. Submarine rescue motherships (MOSHIPs) included INS Nistar from India, JS Chiyoda from Japan, and MV Mega Bakti from Malaysia.

Exercise Pacific Reach 2025 consists of a shore phase and a sea phase. The shore phase comprises a medical symposium, national submarine rescue system conference, as well as a mass evacuation exercise (MASSEVEX) that simulates the evacuation and medical treatment of personnel from a distressed submarine. Serials during the sea phase will test the procedures and interoperability of the participating submarine rescue MOSHIPs with submarines, as well as strengthen understanding and confidence on a common set of rescue procedures.

Speaking at the opening of the exercise, the RSN’s Fleet Commander and Exercise Director for Exercise Pacific Reach 2025, Rear Admiral (RADM) Kwan Hon Chuong, said, “A distressed submarine (DISSUB) situation is always a race against time. The submarines can be far, with exact location unknown. Timely intervention and rescue, with partners within and around the region is of utmost importance. Successful submarine rescue is dependant not only on having capable rescue platforms and systems, but also consistent cooperation, aligned processes and effective interoperability with like-minded partners.”

^[1] With hyperbaric facilities such as recompression chambers and a high dependency unit, MV Swift Rescue can provide immediate and specialised medical treatment to injured personnel who are evacuated from distressed submarines.