USS LST-579 originally was a United States Navy LST-542-class tank landing ship built during World War II and in commission from 1944 to 1946 and again in the late 1952.

[1][2] USS LST-579 was laid down on 4 May 1944 at Leavenworth, Kansas, by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co. She was launched on 22 June 1944 and commissioned on 11 July 1944.

[3][4] During World War II, LST-579 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign and participated in Invasion of Lingayen Gulf from 4 to 18 January 1945.

Intrepid, along with four other ex-US Navy LSTs sold to Singapore by the US at around the same period of time, served as part of the RSN's 191 Squadron of the 3rd Flotilla, with its main roles being transporting Singapore Army troops and personnel to training facilities abroad (in foreign countries such as Taiwan), rescue-and-aid operations, supply missions as well as for officer-cadet training programmes conducted overseas.

In 1999, Intrepid, along with RSS Excellence, was deployed to Timor Leste to provide logistic support to Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping operations.