The port of Barcelona has conducted its 2025 general drill, attempting to recreate an emergency case with the maximum possible realism with the objective of putting into practice all the activation, communication, and intervention procedures and checking the coordination between the different operational groups as well as verifying the effectiveness of the means used. The drill consisted of simulating a leak of liquefied natural gas at 10bar -160 degrees, at the Enagás regasification plant’s berthing point 32H, an incident that occurred during maintenance work.
An operator fell into the water and the intervention of the rescue teams was necessary. This scenario activated the action plan (PAU), which set in motion the communication protocol with the different institutions and bodies involved, with a special leading role for the port’s Firefighters. They deployed with different units, a vessel for the rescue of the injured person in the water, a remote-controlled rescue buoy, the firefighting robot, and the aerial drone. It is worth noting that the remote-controlled rescue buoy and the firefighting robot are new equipment that have been used for the first time in an exercise of these characteristics.
The port of Barcelona and the terminals and companies operating within the premises conduct regular exercises with the aim of rehearsing emergency procedures and protocols. The drills are also very useful for facilitating the knowledge of the port of Barcelona to external parties involved in emergency situations and for evaluating response times, both of the different teams individually and of the entire operation as a whole.
