Cross-Straits marine rescue drill held

Both sides of the Taiwan Straits sent marine search and rescue personnel and fleets for a joint drill on Thursday, the first such exercise to be held in open waters in the north of the Strait.

The drill was carried out in response to an emergency scenario in which a passenger liner collides with a cargo ship, leaving five people missing and 10 passengers injured.

More than 550 rescuers, 33 vessels and four helicopters were mobilized for the drill. Half of the personnel were from Taiwan, which also sent six search boats, four patrol vessels and two helicopters.

Zhi Guanglu, deputy director of the China Marine Rescue Coordination Center (China MRCC), said there is an urgent need to safeguard cross-Straits transport.

The Straits's northern waters have complicated hydrological and meteorological conditions. They are also increasingly packed with marine liners and cargo transport.

Since direct shipping links between the two sides of the Straits began in 2008, a total of nine sea passenger routes have been created. More than 40,000 passengers traveled on 23 cruise liners in 2013.

Though this was the third cross-Straits drill, this was the first time it had been focused on a large-scale evacuation operation on sea, said Zhi. It included police information exchanges, emergency response coordination, rescue mobilization, research and rescue work.