Improving Emergency Response at Port of Tauranga

Port of Tauranga staff in conjunction with the New Zealand Fire Service, carried out an emergency response exercise at Tauranga Container Terminal on Friday 28 August 2015.

“Two scenarios where injured stevedores needed to be evacuated from awkward locations underdeck were played out. These were designed to make use of the Port’s special ‘fit-for-purpose’ evacuation platform which can be attached to container crane spreaders” said Port of Tauranga’s Corporate Services Manager, Sara Lunam.

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To enhance the reality of the exercise, it was conducted on board the coastal container vessel Spirit of Endurance, operated by Pacifica Shipping, whose management was in full support of the emergency response exercise. Staff from Independent Stevedoring Ltd (ISL) along with a fire-truck and personnel from the Greerton Fire Station also participated in the exercise.

“The Port has a strong Health and Safety focus and along with Companies working in our environment, we are committed to undertaking pro-active training exercises. It is great to be able to collaborate with Companies operating on the Port and with Emergency Services, to provide invaluable learning opportunities from which we all benefit”, said Sara.

Station Officer at Greerton Fire Station, Neil Patrick said “A great deal was learnt from this live simulation exercise, encouraging all parties to look to actively work together on more frequent occasions in order to promote communications and learning. Our team got an enormous amount from this exercise and looks forward to further collaborations.”

ENDS

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