Feb. 1, 2002 – With the need to develop an at-sea rescue plan on its agenda, the U.S. Coast Guard has called emergency response workers from the U.S. and British Virgin Islands as well as staff from Miami and Washington, D.C., together for a meeting on Wednesday to see what gaps need filling.
The various agency representatives will conduct at "tabletop exercise" at the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency headquarters on St. Thomas. "We want to find out if we have the structure to do a water rescue," Coast Guard Lt. John Reinert, based on St. Thomas, said.
The information gained from the exercise will be used to develop a plan. How long it takes the Coast Guard planner in San Juan to get it into writing will depend on the information obtained from the tabletop exercise.
While the collision last March of the ferry Caribe Tide and the barge Roanoke (also called Tuglife) just outside the Cruz Bay harbor pointed up the need for an emergency plan, Reinert said this exercise has been in the planning stages for a year and a half. The Coast Guard had to wait for funding before the program could begin.
This is the first time for such a tabletop exercise to be carried out in the Virgin Islands. It will involve a simulated collision between a ferry and a small cargo ship in the waters between St. John and Tortola. The participants will try out ways to notify others of the disaster, mobilize response, develop a command structure and coordinate communications.
The primary concern will be, "With up to 300 people in the water, how are we going to get the people out?" Reinert said.
While last year's Caribe Tide/Roanoke collision is still a topic of discussion locally, it was not a unique incident. Ferry accidents in faraway places such as Asia and Europe occasionally make the news. In some of those accidents, hundreds of people die because rescuers may not be prepared.
Reinert said ferry passengers need to develop their own survival plan, should a collision or other disaster occur. "Where are the life jackets?" he urged them to inquire.
He noted that in accidents, many passengers are likely to panic, making it more difficult for other passengers to save themselves and others.
Reinert said the investigation of the Caribe Tide/Roanoke collision is still under review by the Coast Guard's top brass. When that review is completed, the findings will be made public, he said.
