On 11 and 12 October 2016 international Maritime Incident Response Groups (specially trained fire fighter teams, ready to contain on board incidents) will do a full scale exercise.  The teams will respond to incidents on board two ships, one on the North Sea and one in the port of Zeebrugge. Apart from the operations, cooperation and communication lines between the European, national and regional authorities will be tested. The MIRGs from Zeeland (NL), Belgium, Pas de Calais (FR) and Kent (UK) will demonstrate they are ready to contribute to the European Civil Protection mechanism.

Maritime Incident Response Groups EU (MIRG-EU) had a successful two day exercise on 11 and 12 October. The MIRGs had to deal with a truck on fire, an incident with hazardous liquids and a person trapped. One of the goals of the exercise was to test the team’s tasking and operational procedures. With nearly 500 participants, including observers from 15 EU and neighboring countries, and the deployment of five ships and three helicopters, this was one of the largest maritime incident response exercises ever held in European waters. The teams from the four countries showed they can handle long lasting incidents. The exercise staff looks back on a successful drill.