Star Cruises gears up for emergency exercise next week
By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 15 May 2008 2033 hrs

	Photos  of

SINGAPORE: Star Cruises will take part in the largest maritime emergency exercise alongside 12 government agencies on May 23.

Crew members of SuperStar Aquarius will be tested in a simulated fire rescue operation during the Northstar VI exercise. Of the 1,200 crew members, Star Cruises said 750 are trained to handle emergencies.

Martin Van Den Berg, captain of SuperStar Aquarius, said: "From the initial stage when we discover the fire by detector or manually, it takes about a minute until we have people there. (Within a) maximum (of) five minutes, we should have the fire groups starting to attack the fire."

"Everybody is responding on the PA (public announcement) system, on the radios and on the pager system," he added. A medical team will also be on hand to help the injured.

There are about 70 lifeboats and life rafts on board. They can hold up to 3,500 people and will be used to evacuate passengers and crew members in the event of an emergency.

The lifeboats and life rafts, however, will not be dispatched during the Northstar VI exercise, so as to test the responsiveness of the government agencies involved. In the exercise, about 1,000 passengers will be evacuated on 40 vessels from the Navy and Coast Guard, among others.

Starting this week, posters will be displayed at various places - such as Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and Singapore Cruise Centre - to alert the public about the exercise. - CNA/ac