Emergency exercise might turn some heads at Vancouver Harbour today
Residents and visitors near Vancouver Harbour today are being warned about an emergency-response exercise that will bring out some heavy gear.
Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) is participating in a planned training exercise at Pembina’s Vancouver Wharves facility on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
According to WCMRC, the federally mandated emergency exercise is no cause for alarm.
Western Canada Marine Response Corporation
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“As part of the exercise, WCMRC will deploy boats, floating containment booms and environmental protection equipment in Vancouver Harbour,” said Aryan Chambyal, communications coordinator at WCMRC, in a release. “Members of the public may notice spill response vessels and equipment operating in the area throughout the exercise.
“This is a scheduled exercise only and not an actual spill. There is no actual release.”
WCMRC added that the 150-tonne deployment exercise is being carried out alongside Pembina’s planned emergency response training exercise at Vancouver Wharves.
There will be 26 spill response personnel on-water with 5 vessels and RPAS (drone) this morning.
Western Canada Marine Response Corporation
“Exercises like this make sure our crews and equipment are ready to respond if a real spill happens,” Chambyal told Daily Hive. “They give our responders a chance to practise deploying boats, containment boom and recovery equipment, working with partners, and meeting response-time standards. It also allows us to deploy GRS (Geographic Response Strategies), in this case at Brockton Point/ Stanley Park, to protect sensitivities on the coast.
“They’re also a requirement for WCMRC to maintain our certification as a Transport Canada response organization.”
WCMRC is the Transport Canada-certified marine spill response organization for the west coast of the country, with more than 2,300 members. It responds to about 20 spills a year on average, and its crews train and maintain equipment year-round.
“Our mandate, under the Canada Shipping Act, is to be prepared to respond to marine oil spills along all 27,000 km of British Columbia’s coastline and to mitigate the impact when a spill occurs,” said the organization on its website.
“This includes the protection of wildlife, economic and environmental sensitivities, and the safety of both the responders and the public.”
YVR also recently conducted its annual full-scale emergency exercise in September.
Metro Vancouver
The exercise, which simulated an aircraft emergency at the airport, included 400 participants from 25 agencies.
“All participants were clearly identified with vests, and signs were posted throughout the airport to notify passengers of the exercise,” said YVR in a public notice.
“Safety is YVR’s top priority and a responsibility the airport takes seriously for the 28,000 people who work in various roles at YVR, and the more than 26 million travellers it welcomes annually.”
With files from Amir Ali