Searching for survivors, extinguishing fires on ships, extracting victims that are trapped in sunk wrecks. "Dynamic Mercy ’25" rescue exercises have just begun in the Baltic. Polish sailors, sea airmen, as well as civilian units of the Marine Search and Rescue Service participate in them.
The long weekend was not a time of remainder for everyone. On Sunday, the movement prevailed even in the Gdynia Warport. In the early afternoon from the waterfront, rescue vessel ORP ‘Zbyszko’. After leaving for the sea, he went west to join the exercise “Dynamic Mercy ’25”.
The maneuvers organize MARCOM, the Allied Command of NATO Maritime Force. In fact, they started at the end of April, but more participants join them gradually. “The various parts of the exercise will proceed until the end of May”, explains Captain Mar. Jakub Piechota, commander of “Zbyszka”. 11 countries reported in the project, including the USA, France, Germany, Sweden and Finland. Poland outside the ORP “Zbyszko” will represent chopper W-3WARM Anakonda from Naval Air Brigade and 2 units belonging to the Marine Search and Rescue Service (SAR). The organizers besides received tasks from Brzegowa Rescue Station in Dziwnow. – We are taking part in the exercises again. Their primary thought is to rip off the interaction of military and civilian components liable for rescue," explains Rafał Goeck, SAR spokesman. global cooperation is besides crucial in this context. – While Dynamic Mercy We bring together regional allies to make search and rescue capabilities together. This is crucial due to the fact that rescue operations at sea frequently go beyond national borders and require the collaboration of many countries – points out kmdr Thomas Yale from the US Navy, the main planner of the exercises, as quoted by MARCOM press services.
That is why Polish sailors and SAR rescuers will execute tasks in a region where the zones of work of Poland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden meet. – We will participate in respective episodes of the exercise – says Captain Mar. Infantry. First we'll look for a lost yacht, and then we'll go to aid his crew that drifts across the Baltic on a raft. The scripts besides establish a rescue action after ships collided at sea, searching for sailors who fell overboard and extinguishing the fire," the officer mentions.
Divers from the Support Ship Squadron will besides descend under water. – They practice extracting the victims of the disaster from the alleged airbag on a sunk wreck – explains Captain Mar. Infantry. Often, not all spaces are flooded inside the hulls of individuals that go down. According to expert calculations, survivors can last in specified bubbles for up to 72 hours. Problem is, they can't get to the surface on their own. Defeating the water-filled tangle of corridors without specialized equipment is simply a miracle. And even if the survivor did, with advanced pressure, he won't win. Uncontrollable flight to the surface is usually equivalent to death. That is why the victims gotta trust on outside help. And sometimes there's an extraordinary arrangement of fate. For example, the case of Harrison Okene, a cook from the deck of a Nigerian tugboat who survived nearly 60 hours through the air bubble. After the crash, his ship settled at a depth of 30 metres, and the cook was brought to the surface by divers conducting a wreck inspection. So NATO experts regularly train to save people in specified situations. – We have a peculiar simulator for the ship compartment that we can sink and usage for exercise. During Dynamic Mercy The divers will be abandoned on the dive call.. They will extract the mannequin from the inside – says Captain Mar. Infantry.
The ORP “Zbyszko” in MARCOM exercises will stay for 2 days. After completing his assignments, however, he will not immediately return to his home port. We'll spend the next fewer days on a training cruise. The ship will go to Copenhagen and Riga. We will return to Gdynia in the mediate of May – says Captain Mar. Infantry. The Dynamic Mercy maneuvers will last until 9 May.
