Disaster exercise on the high seas near IJmuiden attracts hundreds of ‘victims’

NOS News•today, 08:01

More than 1,200 people have already registered as ‘voluntary victims’ for a disaster exercise on a ferry on the high seas. The Coast Guard had asked for a maximum of 500 people.

One of the extras who registered for the exercise on June 1 is Hans Feije (86) from Heemstede. “I just think it’s really nice that it’s happening. Many elderly people go on such a ferry, so it’s also important that they practice along in case things go wrong,” he says at NH.

On June 1, the Coast Guard, rescue service KNRM and other emergency services practiced a disaster involving a large ferry off the coast of IJmuiden. The disaster scenario: a fire breaks out on the high seas on one of the ferries of shipping company DFDS. The captain decides that all 500 passengers must be evacuated. That decision is the start of an exercise that will last hours.

The Coast Guard is deploying two helicopters and an aircraft in the exercise. The KNRM provides assistance with seven rescue boats. On land, the Kennemerland Safety Region practices the care and transport of ‘victims’ to hospitals and reception locations. Experts keep an eye on what is going well and what is not going well, with communication between the various emergency services being particularly important. There is comparison material: a similar major exercise was held five years ago.

The five hundred ‘victims’, passengers on the ferry, are all volunteers. They have been selected by the OOV support foundation. Public Order and Safety Support is a non-profit organization specialized in recruiting extras for exercises.

Arthur Haijer from OOV support is surprised by the large number of registrations. He points out that registration is now completely closed. People will also no longer be placed on the waiting list.

Some would-be extras reacted a bit overconfidently, says Haijer. “I have my boating license,” one person wrote. “I can sail that boat during the exercise.” Another indicated that she would like to participate if she were taken off board by helicopter. When it was explained to her that only people with special training are eligible for a coast guard helicopter rescue, she backed out.

OOV support received a striking number of registrations from people who had acted in films. “For example, there was someone who indicated that he already had twenty years of experience as an extra in film productions, with small pieces of text and even explosives on the body,” said Haijer, who at the same time emphasizes that these types of skills do not necessarily matter on June 1 .

What does matter is the condition of the person on board. “You have to be able to transfer from a swaying ship to a wobbly sloop. Then you have to be fit,” says Haijer. Even though he is no longer twenty, volunteer Hans Feije is not worried about that. “I cycle every day and I walk a lot. I have just come from the market where I walked around for an hour and a half. My condition is excellent.”