Large-scale water rescue exercise in the Port of Hamburg

Today, the large-scale water rescue exercise OSC-River Live EX225 took place in the Port of Hamburg. The Hamburg Fire Brigade, the Hamburg Police, the Water Police, the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) and the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) joined forces with around 100 rescue workers to practise an emergency on the water.

The project partners presented the OSC River training course at a press event at the MTC in March last year. This was followed by a practical exercise in the simulator at the Port of Hamburg. With today's water rescue exercise, the project partners have now taken a further step: during the exercise, a deflagration was simulated on board a barge, causing several people to go overboard and disappear. More than 15 emergency vehicles, including the fire-fighting vessel 'Branddirektor Westphal', the new coastal patrol boat 'WS3 Bürgermeister Weichmann', the police helicopter LIBELLE LBP8 and drone units of the HPA were involved in the search and rescue mission. The main objective was to train the communication channels between the different actors.

In order to ensure the best possible coordination of rescue operations, the fire brigade and the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS) have developed a training course for their ship captains, which aims to optimise the coordinated deployment of the on-scene coordinators (OSC). The concept originates from international shipping and has been extensively revised for use in the Port of Hamburg and on the River Elbe.

Background:

In mid-2003, the fire brigade, the HPA, the port pilots and Hamburg Port Services GmbH, supported by the DLRG and the DGzRS, decided to introduce the concept in Hamburg in cooperation with the Marine Training Center Hamburg (MTC). By participating in the course, all pilots in the port of Hamburg will be able to take part in coordinated search and rescue operations. The aim is to have trained people available to assist professional rescue teams and to significantly improve response times, particularly in the critical initial phase.