On June 20, Guangdong and Hainan jointly held the Qiongzhou Strait ro-ro passenger ship emergency search and rescue drill in the Qiongzhou Strait. The drill simulated a fire in the vehicle cabin after the ro-ro passenger ship collided with a fishing boat during the voyage. Zhanjiang and Haikou The Maritime Search and Rescue Center jointly organized and coordinated the forces of all parties to launch a “sea and air three-dimensional” joint rescue.
At 10 am, with the sound of the accident alarm signal, the drill officially started. The simulated ro-ro passenger ship “Haixia No. 8” collided with “Yuexuyu No. 2”, which caused a short circuit of a car battery on the car deck and caused a fire. Because the fire was too large, the ship could not extinguish the fire by itself. At the same time, affected by the collision and fire, the ro-ro passenger ship lost control, causing the bow to run aground, and there was a danger of capsizing. The personal safety of 500 passengers and 60 crew members on board was threatened, and a large-scale personnel transfer was required. All 3 people on the fishing boat fell into the water and urgently needed emergency rescue. . After the danger occurred, the ro-ro passenger ship sent out an alarm signal while carrying out self-rescue. The Xuwen County Maritime Search and Rescue Center immediately launched a plan. And directing ships to go shallow and other emergency response work.
According to reports, a total of 15 boats, 1 professional rescue helicopter, and 1 ambulance were dispatched for this drill. During the drill, all departments coordinated in an orderly manner, and the rescue force had strong support. All links cooperated tacitly, responded quickly, and handled properly. The level of specialization of each unit in dealing with maritime emergencies has been improved.
Li Siqiang, executive deputy director of the Zhanjiang Maritime Search and Rescue Center and director of the Zhanjiang Maritime Safety Administration, said that the water transport traffic in the Qiongzhou Strait is heavy, the ship flow is large, the voyage frequency is dense, the water passenger traffic is large, the north-south route meets the east-west route, and the collision risk of commercial and fishing vessels is high. It is listed as one of the national key regulatory areas, and its water traffic safety has become the focus of attention from all walks of life. This drill tested the coordinated operational capabilities of emergency search and rescue operations across the Qiongzhou Strait, and improved the actual combat capabilities of large-scale personnel transfers by ro-ro passenger ships.