The eastern naval command of the Nigerian Navy on Wednesday conducted a harbour defence simulation training exercise to consolidate troops’ readiness to respond to harbour threats.
The exercise, flagged off by the flag officer commanding, Chidozie Okehie, was conducted at the Nigeria Navy Ship VICTORY jetty in Calabar.
Mr Okehie, represented by the chief staff officer, explained that the exercise was code-named ‘EXERCISE EDIKPEME-MUO’, which means safe waters in the Efik and Ibibio languages.
He said the exercise was designed to practise harbour drills and emergency response procedures involving ships alongside, NNS VICTORY and other support units within the command.
The FOC said the objective of the exercise was to test alertness, coordination, and inter-unit synergy in the event of an attack or emergency.
According to him, the aim is to prepare the men to promptly respond to any untoward situations or threats to ships and bases.
The FOC, who attributed the recent successful rescue of 22 crew members onboard MV CHIMBA Express by NNS OSE to the frequent training exercises, expressed the command’s resolve to sustain the training to ensure its men are up to the task of responding to such emergency situations whenever the need arises.
During the exercise, officers and ratings simulated various emergency scenarios, including defence station, action, and emergency station drills involving the disruption and repelling of underwater saboteurs, as well as man-overboard drills.
Other drills conducted include medical evacuation, diving, plugging, and firefighting.
The scenarios were executed in a coordinated manner to assess response time, communication efficiency and command and control effectiveness.
The exercise drew participants from ships at VICTORY Jetty, the detachment of the Special Boat Service, the NNS VICTORY gunboat squadron and the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital, among others.
(NAN)