A file image of a Fearless-class patrol vessel while it was in service with the Republic of Singapore Navy. Singapore has since transferred one of the boats to Brunei. (Singapore Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) has commissioned the ex-Singapore Fearless-class patrol vessel it received on 15 March.
The vessel, which has been renamed KDB As-Siddiq with pennant number 95, was commissioned on 21 March at the RBN's naval base in Muara, Brunei.
Janes first reported on 10 March that Brunei has agreed to receive two ex-Singapore Fearless-class patrol boats that were decommissioned by the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) in 2019 and 2020.
As-Siddiq is the first of these two vessels, and it was handed over to the RBN on 15 March. It was formerly in service with the RSN as RSS Brave.
A sister vessel is currently undergoing a transfer process and will be known in service with the RBN as KDB Al-Faruq.
As-Siddiq and Al-Faruq are being transferred as a gift, and as a symbol of the close defence relations between the two smallest Southeast Asian countries.
Janes understands that the transfer was officially proposed by the RSN in December 2019, and a technical visit to discuss training and logistics requirement was carried out in Singapore for RBN personnel in October 2021.
Training for the RBN's pioneering crew of As-Siddiq, which included casualty evacuation, firefighting, and rigid-hull inflatable boat-stowing procedures, began in Singapore on 22 December 2022.
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