The CPC Taoyuan refinery has two offshore oil-unloading buoys in open waters of Shalun for oil-unloading operations. As international shipping route often passes by, this area is deemed as a highjack and oil pollution high risk area, where oil pollution can endanger marine ecological environment of the region.
To mitigate or eliminate marine oil pollution and its impacts to ecological environment, human body and our assets, the government must be able to timely and effectively integrate inter-departmental resources and enhance its sea disaster response capability. “2017 Water Environment and Marine Oil Pollution Emergency Response Drill” was taken place in Zhuwei Habor on September 8 this year (2017) and the Taoyuan City Government applied to NASC of MOI for having a helicopter joined the drill. NASC dispatched airborne AS-365 Dauphin (No. NA-106) of Squadron 1, the 1st Wing (stationed at Taipei Songshan Airport) and the crew thereof to support the drill.
This drill aims to examine the vertical and horizontal reporting mechanism of the response center and its abilities to integrate inter-departmental resources, negotiate with relevant units and carry out disaster response works. A complex-disaster drill that includes practice in highjack prevention mechanisms, marine oil containment, chemical substance disaster response and coastal oil pollution clean-up was implemented. The scenario was: a fishing vessel was hijacked and the the crew members called the nearby ship of CPC named “Taiyang (Sun)” for help; the fishing vessel suddenly speeded up and crashed Taiyang; the gunmen rapidly got on board and hijacked the captain and crew, and threatened to hijack the ship to go out to the sea. Upon receipt of the report, the police agency immediately reported to relevant units and applied for NASC’s support. Upon receipt of the order, NASC immediately dispatched a helicopter to implement air alert, block and fire extinguishing missions. As the ship body of Taiyang was damaged and resulted in oil leakage, a large volume of oil drifted with the current to the south. NASC timely monitored the severity of oil pollution and updated the conditions to relevant units to implement oil containment operations.
In the hijack drill at the harbor, a land, sea and air joint defense was firstly implemented to quickly block the target ship, followed by a simulated negotiation with the gunmen; storming fortifications; fighting with and blocking the gunmen at the harbor; cleaning up oil pollution on the beach, gravel beach and artificial structure. This enables all participants of the response system to be familiar with the entire operating procedures. The drill was almost real and all personnel had done their works skillfully, accurately and rapidly. This has fully demonstrated the response abilities of all units, which is recognized by all participants and citizens at the scene.