Transiting The Straits Of Malacca

In a Stars & Stripes article about USS Frank Cable (AS 40) returning to Guam after a five week "deployment", I saw this interesting paragraph:

After the ship left Malaysia, it acted as a “sea shield” for USS Houston through the Straits of Malacca, from Port Klang to Singapore. Submarines navigating the straits are safer on the surface due to underwater obstacles, so shielding is critical in case of confrontation from an enemy, the Navy said.

I only went through the Straits once on a submarine, and we had to follow behind a skimmer as well. I remember manning the 'scope, verifying range every 2 minutes while watching the movie they were showing on the destroyer's helo deck. Anyone else have a story about being escorted on the surface?