By Lee Hui Chieh, The Straits Times, 10 Mar 2014
SINGAPORE has sent more military planes and ships to help in a multi-country search for the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plane that went missing on Saturday.
Two military transport planes, a naval helicopter, two warships and a submarine support and rescue vessel were dispatched, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement yesterday.
These exclude the first military transport planedeployed on Saturday, which has since returned, the ministry added. Two other C-130 planes have taken its place.
Singapore's efforts are part of a growing international effort to find the missing jetliner, which is widely presumed to have crashed in the waters between north-eastern Malaysia and southern Vietnam.
Malaysia has taken the lead in search efforts by ordering 15 air force planes, six navy ships and three coast guard vessels to search for the missing plane.
Seven other countries - China, the United States, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia and Indonesia - have since deployed ships and aircraft to the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait to aid in search operations.
Vietnamese and Malaysian search teams have discovered large oil slicks in the waters near the plane's last known location. But no one has found conclusive evidence or signs of the wreckage.Meanwhile, reports said experts from the US National Transportation Safety Board were on their way to Malaysia to be in place should any wreckage of the Boeing 777-200 be located.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation was also dispatching personnel to Malaysia, though the authorities declined to give details.
Several Singapore leaders, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, called their Malaysian counterparts on Saturday to offer their sympathies as well as assistance in the search operation.
In a post on its Facebook page, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) said its missile corvette, frigate and naval helicopter joined in the search for MAS Flight MH370 early yesterday morning.
The Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk naval helicopter - which can deploy sonar - is on board the RSS Steadfast. This is one of the navy's Formidable class of frigates - its most advanced warships that are designed for stealth, speed and manoeuvrability.
The RSS Vigour belongs to its Victory class of missile corvettes - fast attack vessels with search capabilities that form what the navy calls "the backbone of the RSN's strike capability".
The RSN added that its submarine support and rescue vessel, the MV Swift Rescue, which had been preparing for the operation through the night, sailed later yesterday. It is equipped to search underwater, and has divers on board.