OREANDA-NEWS. November 06, 2012. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL; President: Koichi Muto) and Mitsui O.S.K. Kinkai, Ltd. (President: Nobuo Nishijima) today announced the completion of a table top drill in cooperation with the 4th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, based on a scenario in which a Mitsui O.S.K. Kinkai-operated steel product carrier collided with a small coaster off Daiozaki in Mie Prefecture, Japan.

The drill was held on Friday, November 2, 2012, and aimed at further strengthening MOL's emergency response structure based on the MOL Group Corporate Principles - protecting the environment by maintaining strict, safe operation and navigation standards. The exercise also was designed to confirm the necessary response procedures and smooth, precise communication so critical in the event of a marine incident involving a Mitsui O.S.K. Kinkai-operated vessel.

Main participants included MOL and Mitsui O.S.K. Kinkai executives and relevant divisions, which teamed up to organize an Emergency Control Headquarters in each company.

The drill scenario was that the steel product carrier, which had left Nagoya and was under way off Daiozaki in Mie Prefecture toward Kobe, collided with a small coaster bound from Owase to Keihin. The drill presumed that the collision caused flooding in the engine room of the steel product carrier, leaving it disabled. The scenario also included fuel oil leaking from the damaged vessel, crew members injured, and one of the coaster's crew members overboard.

The exercise began with an initial report from the steel product carrier involved in the incident. Mitsui O.S.K. Kinkai immediately reported to the 4th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters. MOL and Mitsui O.S.K. Kinkai then organized an Emergency Control Headquarters and confirmed first-response tasks, and procedures such as information gathering and communication among concerned parties, giving the vessel directions, and holding a joint media response drill.

MOL holds biannual table top drills based on different scenarios, taking into account various conditions. The company continues to sharpen its group-wide emergency response readiness procedures by sharing know-how accumulated in these training sessions throughout the MOL Group fleet.