MV Avatar
MV "Avatar" is a general cargo vessel currently in service with the Republic of Singapore Navy as a training vessel. She is owned by Valour Offshore Marine Services and leased to the Defence Science and Technology Agency, a statutory board under the Ministry of Defence. "Avatar" is not a commissioned navy warship and flies the state marine ensign instead of the naval ensign. Merchant career. The ship was laid down on 4 May 1983, launched on 23 August as "Astrakhan" and delivered the same year on 30 December by the shipyard in Rostock, East Germany. She was the  first of Warnowwerft's series of lift-on-lift-off/roll-on-roll-off (LORO) vessels. The development of the class was intended to allow a wider range of cargo to be carried that a conventional RORO ship would not accommodate, in addition to supporting military supply operations. "Astrakhan" was operated by the Soviet, then Russian, Baltic Shipping Company until 1995 when she was sold to the Cyprus-based Astrapride Shipping Company Ltd., re-registered under the Cyprus flag, and renamed "Admetos". In 1997, she was again sold to Willows Maritime Ltd., re-registered in Malta, and firstly renamed "Quetzal  and then Norbulk Ramin". Valour Offshore Marine Services Pte. Ltd. of Singapore subsequently acquired "Norbulk Ramin" in September 2000 and renamed her "Avatar", registering her in Singapore. She has been leased to the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) as a training platform since 2001. Navy service. Boarding operations. The RSN presently uses "Avatar" as a training platform to simulate vessel hijackings and boarding operations, also known as visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS). In August 2005, "Avatar" was part of the multilateral "Exercise Deep Sabre" as a hijacked vessel, being boarded by Naval Diving Unit commandos. The Chemical, Biological, Radiological  and Explosive (CBRE) Defence Group, Japan Coast Guard and Australian Customs Service were also involved in the operation. In May 2016, "Avatar" was involved in the inaugural multinational Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus Maritime Security and Counter-Terrorism exercise (ADMM-Plus). During the 11-day ADMM-Plus exercise, she again served as a hijacked vessel, with a SAF Special Forces team rappelling onto her deck from a helicopter, while other nations' special forces teams boarded her via her shipside with rigid inflatable boats. In July 2021, "Avatar" participated in "Exercise Pacific Griffin" with the United States Navy near the US  territory of Guam, as part of a counter-terrorism exercise. Helicopter operations. "Avatar" has also been refitted to support two helicopter landing decks rated for the RSAF Super Puma or Cougar helicopters. The refit program expanded her flight deck and removed her cranes to enhance helicopter operations. Typhoon Nepartak. In July 2016, "Avatar" was berthed in the Port of Kaohsiung when Typhoon Nepartak impacted Taiwan with wind speeds reaching as high as . Six of seven mooring lines snapped, resulting in the ship drifting but still tied to the pier bollard by a single rope. "Avatar" narrowly missed colliding with a  Republic of China Navy "Cheng Kung"-class frigate before being pushed back alongside, with the assistance of two tugboats.