Nippon Yusen and its group company NYK Shipmanagement (NYKSM) conducted a training exercise on October 17 to prepare for a serious accident.
<NYK Line Accident Response Headquarters>
The training was conducted under the scenario that a fire broke out on a car carrier owned and operated by Nippon Yusen off the coast of Okinawa Prefecture, followed by a serious accident in which it collided with a smaller vessel during firefighting operations.
With the cooperation of external parties such as the Maritime Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, and the Japanese Shipowners' Association, we conducted a simulation of an actual accident to practice fire response, rescue operations, coordination with relevant parties, and emergency response such as press conferences.
NYKSM participated from its Singapore office and its India office, which is responsible for managing car carrier vessels. They coordinated their responses to the fire and collision incidents across geographically separated locations.
<Scenes from training at NYKSM Singapore office>
The training exercise began with receiving notification of a fire from NYKSM, the ship management company for the car carrier. This prompted establishing communication channels with relevant parties and initiating initial response measures. As the fire worsened and a collision occurred with a smaller vessel, an accident response headquarters was established. Rescue operations, safety measures, and fire response were carried out in cooperation with the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters.
Finally, in accordance with the developments in the situation, a mock press release distribution was conducted, followed by a mock press conference featuring Executive Officers Hisaya Higuchi and Yutaka Ikeda.
<Scene from a mock press conference. Executive Officer Hisaya Higuchi (left) and Executive Officer Yutaka Ikeda (right)>
This regularly conducted drill is part of the "Remember Naka-no-Se" campaign, which is held annually as a lesson learned from the oil spill accident involving the crude oil tanker "Diamond Grace" in Naka-no-Se, Tokyo Bay, on July 2, 1997. Since 1998, it has been held for two months starting on July 1st each year, and 2025 will mark its 28th occurrence.
