The fast ferry Jaume I of Baleària Caribbean was the scenery for the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) emergency exercise organized by the Florida Army National Guard’s Civil Support Team (CST).
Baleària Caribbean connects Fort Lauderdale (Miami) with Freeport (Grand Bahama) with 6 weekly services. The company operates this route with the fast ferry Jaume I, with a capacity for 600 passengers. Since the company opened its line in December 2011, it says it has transported more than half a million passengers between the United States and the Bahamas.
The drill, which took place, last Wednesday at the Port Everglades facility in Fort Lauderdale, consisted of a simulation of biological contamination aboard the ship. During the demonstration, the emergency personnel detected several passengers with symptoms of contamination, after which they proceeded to notify the relevant authorities to activate the emergency protocol. After getting on board, the agents were in charge of locating the source of the contamination and proceeded to the evacuation and subsequent decontamination of the ship.
The exercise, which was supported by the United States Coast Guard’s Gulf Strike Team (GST) as well as crew collaboration, also included hands-on training offered by the Broward County Hazardous Materials Team (HAZMAT) and staff To carry out operations on board the ship in order to ensure the safety of passengers.
Both the inspector and the ship’s crew received the Certificate of Appreciation from the 44th Civil Support Team (WMD) as well as the United States Coast Guard Passenger Vessel Safety Specialist medal.
