China

Mainland, Taiwan launch first joint sea rescue drill

By Wei Tian and Hu Meidong (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-17 07:40

XIAMEN, Fujian - Maritime authorities from the mainland and Taiwan marked a historical first by launching a joint search and rescue exercise in the Taiwan Straits on Thursday.

The land-sea-air drill, involving 14 rescue vessels, three helicopters and more than 400 participants, featured a scenario in which two vessels collided in waters between the port city of Xiamen and the Kinmen Island of Fujian province.

In the exercise, rescue personnel from the mainland and Taiwan simultaneously received a distress call from a ship in the Straits and dispatched rescue and medical units to the site after consulting each other and coordinating their efforts.

The exercise aimed to test the abilities of emergency response and communication, maritime search and medical personnel to safeguard transport in the Straits, said Zhai Jiugang, director of the chief duty room at the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center (CMSRC).

Authorities on both sides could evaluate their ability to work out an emergency plan for maritime rescue in direct shipping routes between the mainland and Taiwan, Zhai said.

Mainland participants included the CMSRC, the Association for Shipping Across the Straits and Xiamen city government. Participants from Taiwan included the Chinese Search and Rescue Association and the government of Kinmen county.

It was the first time the two sides carried out an exercise on this scale, thoroughly cooperating in planning, organizing, implementing and, most importantly, commanding the operation, said Xu Zuyuan, vice-minister of transportation, who called for annual exercises to be held in the future.

The exercise staged a scenario in which a passenger ship collides with a cargo ship in waters off Xiamen and Kinmen, resulting in 13 passengers falling into the water and the cargo ship catching fire.

Nine vessels from the mainland and five from Taiwan quickly joined the rescue operation, which took place in an area of 6.2 square kilometers under the orders of their command ships, the Haixun-132 from the mainland and the CG-123 from Taiwan.

In the space of 40 minutes, the two sides rescued the 13 drowning passengers, including 10 who were mildly injured and in need of first aid from medical staff on board the ships, while the seriously injured passenger was transported by helicopter to a hospital for treatment.

"In a real-time accident, quick response is the key to a successful rescue. This is achieved by sharing information between the two sides," said Li Xin, of the Fujian marine bureau.

In the first half of this year, Fujian maritime search and rescue center reported 9,467 ships sailed through the Straits, carrying 760,262 passengers, 2.78 million tons of cargo and 310,829 containers.

The mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation signed a maritime shipping agreement in November 2008, pledging to establish a cooperation mechanism for maritime rescue.

In 2009, Fujian maritime search and rescue center organized 123 rescue operations in the Taiwan Straits, going to the aid of 138 ships in distress and helping 1,219 passengers out of danger.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

China Daily