Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) is organizing a three-day exercise, BARRACUDA-XI, from Jan. 11 to Jan. 13, according to a statement issued by the PR wing of the institute.
The proceedings of the day started with flag hoisting and wreath-laying on the Shuhadas monument on Jan. 11, at Pakistan Maritime Security Agency Headquarters in Karachi. Later on, the opening ceremony took place at Beach Luxury Hotel.
Director General Pakistan Maritime Security Agency, Rear Admiral Mirza Foad Amin Baig HI(M) welcomed the participants while elaborating that BARRACUDA is a series of international exercises performed on regular basis under the overall coordination of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency.
Minister of State for Climate Change Ms. Zartaj Gul Wazir also graced the occasion with her presence as Chief Guest.
Participants of Exercise
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bahrain, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Turkey, France, and United States of America are participating in the exercise.
Aims and Objectives of Exercise BARRACUDA:
The aims of the exercise BARRACUDA include:
- To exercise Marine Oil Spill response and Search & Rescue procedures as per Pakistan’s National Marine Disaster Contingency Plan (NMDCP)
- To strengthen inter-ministerial, inter-agency cooperation about marine anti-pollution and SAR subjects.
- To increase professional knowledge of staff involved in the activity in order to identify problems or possible improvements to existing procedures.
- To develop a realistic training event by consolidating resources and manpower held with stakeholders.
- To highlight ability of PMSA, PN and other stakeholders in coordinating Oil Spill/ SAR response as part of maritime awareness at national/ international level.
- To check Command & Control procedures in order to handle emergency at sea by employing sea assets.
The Chief Guest Ms. Zartaj Gul Wazir interacted with all the foreign observers from participating countries as well as the media persons. She lauded the efforts of the Pak Navy and PMSA in conducting the exercise. She especially showed gratitude towards all the foreign delegates for their enthusiasm in participating in the event.
Ms. Gul further said that events like this certainly provide the best platform to benefit from the professional experiences of nations across the globe in a near realistic environment. This exercise will help in improving overall standards, augmentation of professional practices, and refinement of existing procedures through obtained experience.
She valued the overall planning and conduct of the exercise and expressed a desire to enhance the scale of the exercise even further in the future.
