Joint nautical rescue exercise launched in Shanghai
7/7/2005 15:02
A joint nautical rescue exercise was launched at 10:52 a.m. Thursday in
sea waters off the Yangshan Port in east China's Shanghai metropolis.
The
exercise, co-sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Communications and the
Shanghai Municipal People's Government, lasted 70 minutes and involved 30 ships,
five aircraft and approximately 1,000 people from 24 departments, including East
China Sea Fleet of the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
(PLA).
Officials with the Ministry of Communications described the event as a
showcase of China's capabilities to cope with any possible emergency situation,
search for people missing in mishap on the sea, put out a fire on ship, clear
away oil spills and remove explosive devices on ships.
It also commemorates
the 600th anniversary of maritime expeditions by Zheng He, a world-renowned
seafarer in the 15th century, they said.
The exercise began with a simulated
collision between bulk ship Hailing and container vessel Park Trader -- the
former caught fire and the latter had explosive devices aboard.
Rescuers from
maritime authorities, the PLA East China Sea Fleet, frontier defence offices,
customs, public security administration, port authorities, meteorological
stations and health departments spent about one hour extinguishing the fire,
searching for missing sailors, removing explosives and cleaning oil leakage on
the sea waters.
About 600 people watched with interest the exercise at
Yangshan Port, including officials from Beijing and Shanghai municipalities,
coastal provinces of Liaoning, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan, and the
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The rescue institutions of Hong Kong, Macau
and Taiwan, and the maritime affairs departments of Russia, the United States,
and ten ASEAN member nations have also sent their representatives to view the
exercise while the Republic of Korea and Japan have sent patrol craft to
observe.
The exercise constitutes a vital step China has taken in carrying
out the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Transport Cooperation signed with
the 10-member ASEAN last November, said Xu Zuyuan, Vice Minister of
Communications and chief commander of the exercise.
The exercise carries the
theme of "caring for life, safety and building a harmonious society," Xue said.
Xinhua
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