MOL stages table-top drill of collision of steel carrier and coaster

JAPAN's Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and Mitsui OSK Kinkai have completed a table top drill based on a scenario in which a steel product carrier collides with a small coaster off Daiozaki in Mie Prefecture, Japan.

The drill was staged in cooperation with the 4th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, and was aimed at further strengthening the group's emergency response structure. Each of the MOL companies teamed up to organise emergency control headquarters.

The exercise was designed to confirm the necessary response procedures and smooth, precise communication critical in the event of a marine incident involving a Mitsui OSK Kinkai-operated vessel, a company statement said.

The drill scenario involved a steel product carrier on its way to Daiozaki in Mie Prefecture towards Kobe from Nagoya, colliding with a small coaster bound from Owase to Keihin. The drill presumed that the collision caused flooding in the engine room of the steel product carrier, leaving it disabled. The scenario also included fuel oil leaking from the damaged vessel, crew members being injured, and one of the coaster's crew members falling overboard.

The group holds biannual table top drills based on different scenarios, taking into account various conditions.