The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) held a half-day ferry evacuation exercise to test the readiness of various agencies to respond to potential ferry mishaps in the Port of Singapore. To practise the ferry crew on the passenger management and evacuation drills at sea, the exercise scenario involved an inbound regional ferry which struck an object and had taken in water while en route to TMFT. As a precautionary measure, the ferry master evacuated the 62 passengers on board into life rafts for transfer to a second ferry via MPA Patrol Craft. There were no injuries reported.
More than 150 personnel from eight agencies and companies took part in this exercise, which included deployment of resources at sea at the Small Craft Anchorage for rescue operations and at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT), the landing point for ‘rescued’ passengers.
The “incident” was reported to MPA’s Marine Safety Control Centre, which in turn activated the multi-agency Ferry Mishap Contingency Plan. A Ferry Mishap Contingency Plan is a contingency plan that provides for the safe evacuation of passengers and search and rescue operations within Singapore port limit and up to 30 nautical miles from Singapore port limit. A total of nine craft were dispatched to help with the evacuation of passengers.
Mr Andrew Tan, MPA’s Chief Executive said, “Safety remains a top priority. Today’s ferry evacuation is part of our regular emergency exercises to test our agencies’ response to any emergencies within our waters. It is also a reminder to all our stakeholders, including the ferry and terminal operators, that safety is everyone’s responsibility and we have to remain vigilant at all times. MPA will continue to work with the maritime community to raise the overall standards of safety in our port.”
Source & Image Credit: MPA Singapore