PH, China Coast Guards engage in historic maritime drill
Published Jan 15, 2020 12:00 am
By Betheena Unite
In an unprecedented event, a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ship and a multi-role response vessel from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) sailed side by side to rescue a distressed sea craft off Manila Wednesday to fulfill their goal to establish a better relationship through joint maritime drills and talks.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the China Coast Guard (CCG) conduct a joint maritime drill on search and rescue (SAR) and combatting fire at sea in Manila Bay near Bataan on Wednesday, 15 January 2020. The drill is part of a week-long activity of CCG’s port call in Manila aimed to strengthen understanding, mutual trust, and cooperation between PCG and CCG towards the promotion of maritime security, maritime law enforcement and to deescalate the tensions in the West Philippine Sea. (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN)
The two Coast Guard forces took their communication building to the waters off Manila early Wednesday for a maritime exercise, the first in the history of both nations.
During the drill, a search and rescue operation scenario was carried out where the CCG responded to a blazing vessel while both vessels were in the same area.
The situation was created in order to establish a hotline of communication between the CCG and PCG in the event of sea mishap, where either of the two forces can respond to any incident involving vessels from the Philippines or China.
As part of the drill scenario, PCG received a distress report that a vessel’s cargo hold caught fire while transiting the waters off Manila. Five passengers and eight Filipino crew were onboard the troubled vessel.
While looking for the nearest station to respond, the PCG monitored a 102-meter CCG vessel with bow number 5204 thru Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) in Manila and coordinated through the established hotline of communication between PCG and CCG.
The PCG also deployed its 44-meter multi-role response vessel (MRRV) 4401 BRP Tubbataha.
Both assets, according to PCG, are equipped with water cannons used in firefighting assistance. A rigid hull inflatable boat of the deployed vessels was also launched with rescue swimmers to aid the victims.
The rescued individuals were then transferred to MRRV 4401 with a medical team onboard for medical assessment and treatment, as needed. Eventually, the troubled vessel was declared fire out, with no casualties recorded, ending the drill.
The joint maritime drills on search and rescue and combating fire at sea are part of the week-long activities of CCG’s port call in Manila “to strengthen the understanding, mutual trust, and cooperation between PCG and CCG towards the promotion of maritime security and maritime law enforcement in the West Philippine Sea.”
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the China Coast Guard (CCG) conduct a joint maritime drill on search and rescue (SAR) and combatting fire at sea in Manila Bay near Bataan on Wednesday, 15 January 2020. The drill is part of a week-long activity of CCG’s port call in Manila aimed to strengthen understanding, mutual trust, and cooperation between PCG and CCG towards the promotion of maritime security, maritime law enforcement and to deescalate the tensions in the West Philippine Sea. (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN)
The two Coast Guard forces took their communication building to the waters off Manila early Wednesday for a maritime exercise, the first in the history of both nations.
During the drill, a search and rescue operation scenario was carried out where the CCG responded to a blazing vessel while both vessels were in the same area.
The situation was created in order to establish a hotline of communication between the CCG and PCG in the event of sea mishap, where either of the two forces can respond to any incident involving vessels from the Philippines or China.
As part of the drill scenario, PCG received a distress report that a vessel’s cargo hold caught fire while transiting the waters off Manila. Five passengers and eight Filipino crew were onboard the troubled vessel.
While looking for the nearest station to respond, the PCG monitored a 102-meter CCG vessel with bow number 5204 thru Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) in Manila and coordinated through the established hotline of communication between PCG and CCG.
The PCG also deployed its 44-meter multi-role response vessel (MRRV) 4401 BRP Tubbataha.
Both assets, according to PCG, are equipped with water cannons used in firefighting assistance. A rigid hull inflatable boat of the deployed vessels was also launched with rescue swimmers to aid the victims.
The rescued individuals were then transferred to MRRV 4401 with a medical team onboard for medical assessment and treatment, as needed. Eventually, the troubled vessel was declared fire out, with no casualties recorded, ending the drill.
The joint maritime drills on search and rescue and combating fire at sea are part of the week-long activities of CCG’s port call in Manila “to strengthen the understanding, mutual trust, and cooperation between PCG and CCG towards the promotion of maritime security and maritime law enforcement in the West Philippine Sea.”