History
Given Singapore's standing as a trading port since its founding in 1819, problems of piracy has accompanied its early maritime history until the 1840s when Temmenggong Daeng Ibrahim and his son, Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor, openly supported the British efforts to fight piracy. In 1866, the police's maritime operations were formally established with the building of a floating police station. Dedicated police patrol boats began patrolling the waters around the colony.
In 1916, the Marine Branch was set up, before being established as a separate unit in 1924 and renamed as the Marine Police. The new unit built its first headquarters near Cavenagh Bridge along the Singapore River, and had a fleet of about 26 boats and 238 officers. During the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, all vessels of the Marine Police were confiscated by the Japanese forces. After the war, the Marine Police saw rapid growth with the establishment of sub-bases at Tanjong Kling, Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong by 1951. In 1952, the fleet was boosted to 68 as a result of a reorganisation of the Police Force, and rose to 70 during the Konfrontasi with Indonesia in the 1960s in light of the increased operational needs.
With the attainment of independence for Singapore in 1965, the unit was upgraded in light of increased responsibilities for the new nation. It relocated its headquarters to the new Kallang Regional Base at Kallang Basin in 1970, and became known as the Marine Division.
The Marine Division underwent a major restructuring and was renamed as the Police Coast Guard on 13 February 1993, given its expanded roles in marine security responsibilies and capabilities, including preventing the intrusion of illegal migrants and foreign government vessels, and the guarding of the Horsburgh Lighthouse on the disputed island of Pedra Branca in the Singapore Straits. The PCG officiated the reorganisation of its operations into three squadrons, namely the Interceptor Squadron, the Port Squadron and the Coastal Patrol Squadron on 7 May 1993 and launched the Special Task Squadron (STS) on 22 January 1997.
On 20 March 2006, it relocated its headquarters to its current location at Brani Regional Base, due to the planned damming of the Marina Bay and Kallang Basin. The new Police Coast Guard headquarters at Pulau Brani was officially opened on 8 February 2007 by the Minister for Home Affairs, DPM Wong Kan Seng
Read more about this topic: Police Coast Guard
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