IMPRESSIVE VIDEO FROM THE EXERCISE 'NEMESIS 2020'

 Filenews 14 October 2020

The multinational exercise "NEMESIS 2020" took place today, within sea parcels 1, 2, 8 and 9 of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus (KD). The exercise involved in and staff from Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, the United Kingdom, the USA, Israel and Italy, as well as 6 private company ships.

The multinational exercise "NEMESIS 2020" was carried out for the 7th consecutive year and is part of the appropriate preparation of all government agencies involved in the implementation of the Republic's energy programme, with a view to their readiness to deal with any emergency incident on a hydrocarbon extraction platform. The general coordination of the exercise was carried out by the Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (CSED), in cooperation with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, the National Guard, the Cyprus Police and the Department of Fisheries.

The exercise included scenarios for dealing with terrorist activity on a platform for hydrocarbon extraction, classification on suspicious ships, firefighting on ships, rescue and airlift of injured people, mass rescue as a result of abandonment of the platform, and tackling marine pollution.

Addressing the above scenarios of the exercise required the trial implementation of 3 Special National Plans (ESAs), which are included in the Basic National Crisis Plan of the Republic "ZINON". In particular, the ECA "S.H.I.E.L.D." of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was activated. Justice and Public Order, concerning the response to a terrorist act, the ECA "TYKROS" of the Ministry of Defence, concerning a mass rescue following a maritime accident and the ECA "ORFEAS" of the Ministry of Agriculture, concerning the treatment of marine pollution. The conclusions of the exercise and trial implementation of the three Special National Plans have been recorded and after evaluation will be handled accordingly by all stakeholders to further improve the procedures applied to deal with risk situations that may arise in the context of the implementation of our energy programme.

A total of 21 floating and 12 flight instruments participated in the exercise. Specifically, 1 Frigate of the Hellenic Navy, 1 Frigate of the French Navy, 2 ships of the British Navy, 3 warships of the Navy Command of OHIM and 3 patrol vessels of the Port and Naval Police, the "ALEXANDRIA" tanker of PETRONAV, funded by THE AMSA, the hydrocarbon extraction platform "TUNGSTEN EXPLORER", as well as 1 vessel of the company VSS Vasiliko, 1 vessel of vts Vasiliko and 2 vessels of the company EDT Offshore for the treatment of marine pollution and firefighting. The exercise also involved 3 KD helicopters (1 from the MAEP and 2 from the 460 NSN/GEEF), 3 helicopters from the United States. Kingdom, 1 French helicopter, 1 Italian Aircraft P-72 and 1 Italian UAV MQ9, as well as 3 Aircraft (1 Greek C-130, 1 American Aircraft P-8 and 1 from The Forest Department).

On the part of Special Operations Teams, the Airborne Parachute Team of the 31st MEED of the Hellenic Air Force, the 747 Special Engineering Battalion of the Hellenic Army, Underwater Destroyer Teams of the MYK of the Naval Command of the E.F., the Classification Team of the French Navy, the Special Disaster Response Unit (EMAC) of the Fire Department, as well as specialized nurses of the Ambulance Service of the Hellenic Health Service.

Source: Eyenews