Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) said its cruise ship emergency response task force has recently concluded a ship board fire exercise with 'Serenade of the Seas,' a modern RCCL cruise ship at Mina Rashid Cruise Terminal.

DMCA is the government authority charged with regulating, co-ordinating and supervising all aspects of the maritime sector in Dubai.

A modern RCCL cruise ship in Dubai’s Mina Rashid Cruise Terminal during the traditional cruise season, carries 3,000 guests and 1,000 crew.

The drill was part of DMCA’s continuing efforts to improve emergency procedures and collaboration between public and private sector entities in promoting maritime safety and security.

DMCA has been organizing similar exercises to test command and control communications protocols of cruise ships and to identify areas for enhancing shore side and ship board preparation and engagement.

The drill involved a simulated fire in one of the ship’s large tender boats, which are used to ferry guests between the ship and port and are also designated as life boats. The boats may carry as many as 200 people.

Other agencies that responded were the National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA), Civil Defence; Immigration; Dubai Police, Dubai Rescue Police;  Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Dubai Ports Authority (DPA); Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation; Dubai Ports World, and the private sector including the ship’s agents. Civil Defence responded with three trucks  including an aerial unit in order to reach the area involved in the simulation.

The Civil Defence team worked seamlessly with the ship’s crew setting up a unified command on the ship’s bridge to coordinate and direct the response efforts.  

Captain Anders, the Serenade’s Master, thanked the Task Force members and stated, “this was a good exercise for all of us and it should be repeated at least once a year”.

Amer Ali, the DMCA executive director, said the safety and security of guests and crew of ships berthed in Dubai were of utmost priority for the organisation.

"DMCA is therefore constantly working with the industry on various initiatives such as fire drills and other exercises to further enhance emergency procedures, collaboration and coordination with Dubai’s Civil Defence team and the other emergency responders," observed Amer Ali.

"The drill we conducted with the cruise ship ‘Serenade of the Seas’ highlighted the cohesiveness of the Cruise Ship Emergency Response Task Force and the high level of preparedness of the ship’s staff and the shore side support stakeholders," he stated.

"DMCA will continue to proactively introduce initiatives that will further broaden our understanding and expertise in dealing with various emergency situations, while helping reaffirm the status of Dubai as a genuinely safe and secure cruise ship destination, he added.-TradeArabia News Service