Showcasing the Benefits of Cooperation in Responding to Accidents in Seaports – Live Demonstration at the 9th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region

Two ships collide in a European port causing a barrel with unknown, potentially dangerous chemicals to fall aboard. A Border Guard Patrol vessel arrives to investigate the situation. Specially equipped divers are needed to recover the barrel safely and the neighbouring country’s authorities are contacted for assistance. A vessel from the neighbouring country’s coast guard arrives shortly, carrying a team of divers, while a decontamination station is being set up on the shore to clean the crew and the divers of any chemical residue. A helicopter arrives in case any persons need emergency care and must be taken to a specialised hospital.

“The number of hazards, emergencies and disasters is increasing – both man-made and natural – and we have to prepare ourselves and our societies – and we have to train and exercise our units in the fire and rescue services, police, military, humanitarian relief organisations and NGOs” said Jürgen Krempin from Hamburg Fire and Rescue Service, while a crowd of spectators watched the exercise demonstration at Tallinn’s Seaplane Harbour on 5 June 2018.

The demonstration was a part of the programme at the 9th  Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR). Its main focus was to show how joint international exercises can improve countries’ preparedness for all sorts of hazards and prevent loss of lives and money. The audience had the unique opportunity to see all the manoeuvres of the vessels, divers and the rescue services.

The video from the exercise demonstration is available on Facebook.

Prior to the demonstration at the Seaplane Harbour a discussion on “Exercises as tools for building a resilient BSR post-2020 – from the round-table to the field” was organised at the venue of the Annual Forum of the EUSBSR. The session focused on various types of exercises as tools for achieving results in different areas, and the life cycle of an exercise; the benefits, challenges, and lessons learned.

The exercise demonstration and the panel discussion were jointly organised by PA Secure, coordinated by the Secretariat of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and PA Safe, coordinated by the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) and the Finnish Transport Safety Agency (Trafi).

The 9th Annual Forum of the EUSBSR took place in Tallinn, Estonia on the 4 – 5 June 2018 with more than 500 people in attendance.

Read more about it on the PA Secure Website.