Emergency exercise a success in Carmarthenshire
A multi-agency exercise has held to test Carmarthenshire’s response to a potential maritime pollution event, has been hailed a success.
Exercise Celtic Coast - involving the emergency services, several local authorities and other agencies – was staged over two days at the beginning of October.
It involved a series of table-top exercises at the county’s new Strategic Coordination Centre, accompanied by the live deployment of resources and equipment both at sea and on shore in the Milford Haven waterway and at Pembrey Country Park.
Agencies that took part included Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Powys County Councils; the Environment Agency Wales; Milford Haven Port Authority; the Maritime Coastguard Agency; Dyfed Powys Police; Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Services; the Hywel Dda Health Board; Public Health Wales; the Countryside Council for Wales; the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and the Welsh Government.
Although the exercise was based on a fictional incident, all agencies reacted in real-time in the way they would act if the situation was real.
It aimed to ensure that all the agencies were prepared to respond in a co-ordinated and efficient manner to an incident involving both oil and chemical pollution from shipping, thus minimizing the impact on the community and the environment.
Richard Elms, Carmarthenshire County Council’s Civil Contingencies Manager, said: “The exercise went very well, and proved very useful for all agencies who took part. Feedback provided by each agency will now be used to develop the strategic nature of any future responses.
“The exercise was also particularly helpful in highlighting the great level of communication between all the agencies who worked together in response to the incident.”
Exercise Celtic Coast is organized as part of the ARCOPOL project, (Atlantic Regions Coastal Pollution response), which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Atlantic Area Operational Programme.
Exercise Celtic Coast - involving the emergency services, several local authorities and other agencies – was staged over two days at the beginning of October.
It involved a series of table-top exercises at the county’s new Strategic Coordination Centre, accompanied by the live deployment of resources and equipment both at sea and on shore in the Milford Haven waterway and at Pembrey Country Park.
Agencies that took part included Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Powys County Councils; the Environment Agency Wales; Milford Haven Port Authority; the Maritime Coastguard Agency; Dyfed Powys Police; Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Services; the Hywel Dda Health Board; Public Health Wales; the Countryside Council for Wales; the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority and the Welsh Government.
Although the exercise was based on a fictional incident, all agencies reacted in real-time in the way they would act if the situation was real.
It aimed to ensure that all the agencies were prepared to respond in a co-ordinated and efficient manner to an incident involving both oil and chemical pollution from shipping, thus minimizing the impact on the community and the environment.
Richard Elms, Carmarthenshire County Council’s Civil Contingencies Manager, said: “The exercise went very well, and proved very useful for all agencies who took part. Feedback provided by each agency will now be used to develop the strategic nature of any future responses.
“The exercise was also particularly helpful in highlighting the great level of communication between all the agencies who worked together in response to the incident.”
Exercise Celtic Coast is organized as part of the ARCOPOL project, (Atlantic Regions Coastal Pollution response), which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Atlantic Area Operational Programme.
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