SINGAPORE — Members of the public will not be able to see flares shooting off from ships in Singapore on New Year’s eve as the Singapore Government has listed firing of flares for non-emergency purposes as an offence under the Air Navigation Order.
This recent development was highlighted by Darren Soh, an award-winning photographer who has taken many photos that went viral on social media in the past couple of years.
Soh made a Facebook post on Monday with a photo that he took in 2015 instead of one that he would have wanted to take on the last night of 2022.
He was “completely shocked” when nothing happened as he waited for the flares to be shot by the hundreds of ships along the Eastern Anchorage of East Coast Park.
After some quick research, he discovered that the firing of flares for non-emergency purposes has been classified as illegal.
According to the notice published on 9 December 2021 by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), the directing of laser lights at aircraft and firing of flares for non–emergency purposes are offences under the Air Navigation Order.
The notice goes on to state, “These actions can confuse, distract, or cause discomfort to pilots, and can be hazardous to aircraft operations, especially during the aircraft’s critical phases of take–off and landing.”
“The penalty upon conviction for the offence is a fine of up to S$20,000 for the first offence, and a fine of up to S$40,000 or imprisonment of up to 15 months, or both, for the second and subsequent offence.”
Apparently, the decision to make the firing of flares on New Year’s Eve illegal is pretty new, as Soh had documented the practice of flare firing as recently as 1 Jan 2020. There is also no public record of an announcement to make the firing of flares illegal prior to 2021.
The law itself does not particularly point to the use of flare.
The text of the Air Navigation Order, section 73(3) states that a person shall not conduct any outdoor light display unless —
(a) the person has in force a permit granted under sub‑paragraph (4) authorising him to do so; and
(b) the person conducts the outdoor light display in accordance with the conditions of that permit.
“Outdoor light display” for this section refers to a display of one or more lights which includes any searchlight, laser-beam, fireworks or any other type of high intensity light that projects into airspace for purposes of entertainment.
It would appear that flares would fall under the category of fireworks or pyrotechnic in this instance.
Why the sudden change of practice?
Soh lamented the end of the maritime tradition observed in many parts of the world in his Facebook post.
The tradition goes as far back as 1970s when naval officers document firing flares along with other ships at sea to celebrate the new year.
Soh questioned, “So, flares from ships having been fired during a ten-minute window at the first few moments of every new year for the last forty years have not caused any issues to air navigation for an Aerodrome that has essentially the same incoming flight path for same amount of time but in 2021, it was decided that they are now dangerous and will be declared illegal?”
“And so, a longtime tradition witnessed by many but yet still unknown to some is killed. And we will never be able to make a photograph like this again in Singapore.”
“Happy New Year Singapore, please treasure what you have and make as many photos as you can, because you never know when it will be taken from you.”
Disposal of flares
Unexpired flares must be carried by vessels as required by various maritime laws of countries around the world.
Most flares have a use-by date of three years, and they must be replaced before the expiry date.
But at the same time, authorities around the world control the use and disposal of flares as they are pyrotechnics.
Owners of flares cannot
- fire a flare, at sea or on land, except in an emergency to raise the alarm or alert others
- dispose, discard or dump flares anywhere, whether at sea or on land
- dispose of any redundant flare without doing so safely
- ignore the potential health and safety impacts to others or on the coastal and marine environment
- dispose of flares in household or garden waste or at recycling centres
- abandon flares
- receive or store any flares for another person, unless they can do so safely and in compliance with any licensing requirements that may apply
So what better time to shoot all your expired flares into the skies to celebrate the New Year with other mariners or accomplices?
But please note that flares are dangerous. A crew member aboard a Dutch sailing vessel was killed just this New Year’s day after a flare exploded in the man’s hand, and he died from his injuries.
The 23-year-old victim from Delft “fired a flare just after Midnight as an alternative to fireworks,” Netherland police said.
