The first large-scale salvage exercise in China, manoeuvred by the
navy and the local maritime administration, was held on Wednesday
on the Yellow Sea.
Twenty-three salvage vessels and five aircraft were deployed during
the exercise, which lasted more than two hours, according to Xinhua News
Agency.
The drill, conducted under the code name "Salvage One," staged
various efforts including emergent mobilization of rescue crews,
rescue of ship crews who fell in the water, fire control, drainage
and sea pollution clearance.
At
8:30 am on Wednesday, a cargo ship, Huangdao, collided with another
vessel in a simulation in the offing of Qingdao, a coastal city of
East China's
Shandong Province.
The North Sea Fleet of the Chinese navy, along with Shandong
Provincial Maritime Bureau, began a search and rescue immediately
after the red alert was sounded.
Eight air, land and sea rescue groups made up by navy, maritime
police officers, public security officers, fishery administrative
officers, refloatation workers and medical teams rushed to the
spot.
In
the exercise, the helicopters were used to spray oil-melting liquid
for the first time in maritime salvage efforts in China.
The drill was also reportedly done to test communication skills
between the navy and the local administration.
Perils on the sea have become increasingly tough for Chinese rescue
workers to respond to.
The latest crisis involved a collision last Thursday between a
Chinese oil tanker and a Greek container carrier near Xiamen, a
coastal city in East China's Fujian Province.
The sinking of the oil tanker, with a carrying capacity of 8,800
tons, is one of the worst of such accidents in China's history.
And the November 1999 maritime tragedy that killed 280 ferry
passengers is the deadliest.
All but 20 of the ferry's 302 passengers were confirmed dead or
missing when the Dashun ferry caught fire and capsized en route
from Yantai in East China's Shandong Province to Dalian in
Northeast China's Liaoning Province.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Communications, a
total of 769 passengers died in ship or boat accidents in 1999, a
26.9 percent increase from 1998.
(Chinadaily
09/28/2001)