MARINE Rescue Port Stephens and Marine Rescue Lemon Tree Passage descended on Lake Macquarie for a simulation, multi-unit training day recently.

On show was the new Port Stephens Marine Rescue craft the ‘Shirley Clark’.

The simulation search-and-rescue exercise off the Hunter Coast put Marine Rescue NSW volunteers to the test.

In all 55 Marine Rescue NSW volunteers from all eight Hunter/Central Coast units and one member from Greater Sydney’s Cottage Point unit, along with officers from Marine Area Command, members from Surf Life Saving NSW and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service took part in the major regional search-and-rescue exercise (SAREX) at Lake Macquarie.

The SAREX scenario coordinated by Marine Area Command was organised to test rescuers’ capability, multi-agency teamwork and communication in responding to a simulated emergency situation in offshore conditions.

Chief Inspector Anthony Brazzill from Marine Area Command said the training scenario involved a capsized port pilot vessel off Newcastle, near the pilot boarding grounds.

“It was unknown whether there were persons still on board.

“We deployed a police vessel which located the vessel and called in divers.

“There was information that there were four persons on that vessel that were last seen in lifejackets floating away, so we organised a search for those missing people,” Chief Insp Brazzill said.

The emergency response scenario involved seven Marine Rescue NSW vessels from Lake Macquarie, the Central Coast, Terrigal, Norah Head, Lemon Tree Passage, Port Stephens and Newcastle, four Marine Rescue NSW rescue water craft along with inflatable rubber boats and others from Surf Life Saving NSW, Water Police 24 and a Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

Chief Inspector Brazzill said the emergency responders were confronted with a large offshore search area from Swansea Heads to Merewether to locate the four missing targets in the simulation.

“The search area was about 70 square nautical miles plus we were also looking at the shoreline around the beaches and the foreshore,” he said.

Marine Rescue NSW Hunter/Central Coast zone duty operations manager Steve Raymond said members of the multi-agency response used their skills and experience to locate the targets swiftly.

“The exercise went very well, the volunteers found the targets and performed extremely well,” he said.

David Aselford, unit commander of Lemon Tree Passage Marine Rescue told News Of The Area, “it was great to be involved in this multi-agency event. It has honed our skills for any emergency event that may come up.”

By Marian SAMPSON