Train hard, rescue easy (photo report)
Basin exercise on search and rescue of people in distress were held on June 5, 2013 in Taganrog Bay near entrance buoy of Yeisk seaport.
Process and result
Duty coordinating captain of Maritime Rescue Sub Center (MRSC) of Taman received the message from the captain of a virtual M/V Rodnik about the loss of a sailor, that had been found out on the vessel’s arrival to the roads of Yeisk seaport. The captain requested assistance in searching the missing crew member from Taman MRSC. The captain on duty informed the head of MRSC, duty coordinating captain of Novorossiysk MRSC and Harbour Master of Yeisk seaport. The head of Taman MRSC Roman Zaitsev immediately announced the “emergency” situation and nearby vessels headed for the distress area.
The exercise was held in the Taganrog Bay, three miles from the entrance buoy of Yeisk seaport’s approach canal. The situation occurred at 8.45, the vessels made their way to search the missing person at 9.00. As early as at 10.00 the vessels came to the site and the search exercise started. The simulated person in distress was found at 10.22 and taken abroad at 10.35. Then a certified rescuer in a drysuit was placed in water and the exercise proceeded to apply the skills to a real person. First aid measures were undertaken onboard. At 10.40 the injured person was moved to a coast guard speedboat Velbot and by 11.00 delivered to the passenger berth of Yeisk seaport for further transfer to ambulancemen. At 11.15, the end of the exercise was officially announced: medical experts have highly praised the skills of rescuers.
According to Sergey Grechkin, Harbour Master of Yeisk seaport, the purpose of the exercise was to train interaction of control bodies, workforce and means of different organizations participating in searching and rescuing of people in distress. The exercise was initiated and coordinated by Taman MRSC. Besides, the rescue operation involved the workforce and means of Yeisk and Novorossiysk seaport authorities, Azov and Black Sea branch of FSUE Rosmorport, Border Control Service of Russian Federal Security Service (Krasnodar territory), Southern Regional Center of RF Emergency Ministry (Krasnodar territory) and 859th Naval Air Warfare Center in Yeisk. The following vessels participated in the exercise: tugboats Koluyev and Reidovy-43, search-and-rescue cutters KS-701 and Kalmar 76m as well as coast guard speedboat Velbot. Mi-8t helicopter was involved virtually due to low cloud cover.
“The exercise was held with an excellent mark. The goals were reached in full,” Harbour Master of Yeisk seaport Sergey Grechkin said.
It should be noted that the exercise was held in the situation of stormy weather with one meter high waves.
“I am always asked about the meaning of rescuing. It is both the process and the result. This exercise showed a high level of both. The rescuers demonstrated high professional skills and efficiency. The exercise was good in terms of weather, indeed. As a professional rescuer, I was glad to have such weather. Actually, there was some strain and doubt but professionalism and skills of rescuers and navigators confirmed their reliability, head of Taman MRSC Roman Zaitsev said.
Elena Tkacheva