Testing procedures and evaluating future fixes was the objective of the save simulacrum in the Faro/Olhão, which took place this Friday. "We want to prevent future situations that could happen with the worsening of weather conditions that we will see in the autumn and winter", said the Captain of the Port of Faro Jose Isabel.
The scenario is not real, but it could be, since the area is lavish with occurrences: at the exit of the bar. Faro/Olhão, the fishing vessel “Arraial”, with three crew on board, collided with the “Aragão Auxiliar”. At sea, there are two shipwrecked and another crew member was seriously injured. This is the starting point for the exercise.
As a way to demonstrate and test the procedures to be followed in emergency situations, which can be collisions, for example, boats that run out of fuel in the middle of the course, Captain José Isabel closely follows the course of the simulacrum.
«In this case, what I do is call Olhão right away and Faro asking for means”, he reveals to the journalists who follow the exercise. The purpose of this simulacrum, he adds, is also to test arrival times at the site. In this case, the forces took 10 minutes to arrive.
The National Maritime Authority is promoting this type of simulation for the first time, in several of the most important bars in the country, to test the procedures and make possible corrections, exercises that will be repeated in various parts of the country. "The objective is also to test the performance of various means, even outside the navy", says Commander José Isabel.
This year there is even a new medium available to the Captaincy of the Port of Faro: a vessel from the airport of Faro which will be used "when needed". “We will assess the situations and then see when it will be useful. The closer the occurrence is to the Airport, the better, but for the jurisdiction of the Captaincy of Faro this is great», adds commander José Isabel to Sul Informação.
After the arrival of the means at the place of the “accident”, the two “wrecked people” were saved and taken aboard a boat. The crew member who is “injured” is sent to Olhão to be assisted.
However, one of the vessels involved in the collision was thrown against a jetty at the entrance to the bar, so it is necessary to tow it. The operation was carried out by another boat, with a cable pulling the “accident” to land.
With this procedure, the simulacrum comes to an end and the assessment of the Port Captain of Faro is positive.
When was passed in front of the FaroXNUMX of Santa Maria, Commander José Isabel announced something new: the end of the lifeguard station that operated there. «The means of the life-saving station of the FaroXNUMX from Santa Maria will be transferred to that of Olhão», he explained.
This is the only change to the lifeguard stations for now, but one is planned to be created in Quarteira in the future.
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