SAFETY AND SECURITY: ABIDJAN PORT TESTING ITS FIRE SAFETY DEVICE

Sécurité maritime Wednesday 04 October 2023

The Abidjan Port was on high alert on Thursday 27 July 2023 as part of a full scale exercise which was conducted on the tooling site. The simulation which required the deployment of a great deal of human and material resources was carried out under the supervision of the Direction of the Maritime Operations, Security and Environment (DOMSE) of Abidjan Port Authority and the participation of all the stakeholders of the port platform in charge of fire safety.

These are PAA’s firemen, Abidjan Terminal (ATL), GESTOCI, IRES with the support of the firemen, the Port Special Police, PAA’s Gendarmerie, Port Security, CIAPOL, SAMU and many others.

According to the organizers, the exercise was conducted within the framework of the implementation of prevention measures required under the provisions of ISPS Code which is the International Security and Safety Standards for Ships and Port Facilities.

The exercise consisted in simulating a fire outbreak on a pilot boat under repair at dock on the tooling site. The fire has extended to the fuel tank located nearby with a risk of spread to the neighbouring administrative buildings.

The main purpose was to test the ability of the officers responsible for security in Abidjan Port in collaboration with external teams and their ability to react in real situation through the efficiency of key players (Progress of internal operational plan (POI) by the operational HQ transmission and press unit). The good coordination of actions of the theatre of the operations and communication management.

The test also enabled to assess the quality of fire, fighting equipment and available human resources to cope with hazard.

During the debriefing session which concluded the exercise, all the players were unanimous on the smooth running of operation, not without taking into account some aspects to be improved.

Note that the exercise is part of PAA’s Safety and Security Plan for the continuance of the certification of Abidjan Port to ISPS Code obtained since 2004.