Sea rescue drill | Marine Bureau representative says ‘accidents have always happened’

The Marine and Water Bureau, along with several local governmental departments, yesterday conducted a sea rescue drill at the entrance of the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal.
The Customs Service, Public Security Police Force, Health Bureau, and two local high-speed ferry service providers participated in the drill. A total of 15 boats, 10 ambulances, and approximately 180 people from the aforementioned departments were deployed.
Two accident simulations, both located one nautical mile northeast of the harbor, required participants to rescue passengers aboard high-speed ferries. One ferry had nine people while the other had 30. All passengers and crew had to be rescued following the simulation of a crash or due to boat failure.
“This is the first time that a large-scale drill has been organized by Macau’s neighboring regions,” said Wu Chu Peng, head of the Maritime Activities Department of the Marine and Water Bureau.
During the drill, as planned, two stuntmen fell into the water while being transferred to a life raft. In Wu’s words, “the drill has met expectations.”
Several ferry accidents occured recently. The most recent happened on September 11, when one Turbojet ferry sailing to Hong Kong – with approximately 386 passengers and 10 crew members on board – crashed into a sampan (a Chinese wooden boat).
Regarding the recent spate of accidents, Wu said: “Marine accidents have always happened […] and the number of recent accidents has not increased by a large margin.”
Wu also explained that there are two main reasons for the accidents. One is “human resources’ ignorance or their violation of the regulations” while the other is due to “mechanical failure.”
Wu said his department will ask ferry companies to review their operations in order to bring the number of accidents down to the minimum. His department will also “enhance the inspection of infractions.”
Ip Wa Chio, a sub-inspector from the Customs Service, said that his department usually takes 20 minutes to arrive on the accident scene.
So far, “in 90 percent of cases [the Customs Service] arrived to the scenes in 20 minutes,” he said, adding that customs officers will stand by at different spots for 24 hours a day in the event of accidents. Julie Zhu