Eight members of the Port of Tarragona crisis committee, responsible for emergency management, participated in intensive emergency handling training at the Jovellanos Maritime Rescue Centre, focusing on decision-making and uncertainty management through real-time simulations. The “Strategic Emergency Management” course included participants from the Tarragona Maritime Authority, the Tarragona Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, the Fire Department of the Generalitat of Catalonia, the Port of Tarragona Police, and the Chemical Park Fire Brigade.
The purpose of the training programme was to learn and implement emergency management strategies and techniques in the port environment through theoretical sessions and real-time simulations. Course participants had to resolve two emergency situations in the Port of Tarragona recreated in the Jovellanos Centre’s simulation room, during which they had to coordinate the relevant plans and procedures for each type of emergency. They specifically focused on response structure and role procedures, communication, and response channels, establishing priorities, and the distribution of responsibilities among the various response teams involved.
The Port of Tarragona's emergency management system is a flagship model within the Spanish port system. The Port's plans and procedures are certified under the ISO 22320 standard and are pioneering the creation of joint coordination and response mechanisms. The Port of Tarragona, in collaboration with Maritime Rescue and the Fire Department of the Generalitat, played a key role in establishing the Maritime Incident Response Group (MIRG). This elite unit of the Catalan Fire Department works alongside the maritime and aerial resources of the Maritime Rescue Service, as well as the security services of the Port of Tarragona. Together, they form an intervention team ready to respond to shipboard fires.
The development of the MIRG is one of the elements through which the “Port of Tarragona Emergency Management Model” has gained recognition. This model has been refined and perfected in recent years by identifying risk situations at the port, enhancing emergency plans (mainly PIM and PAU), upgrading facilities and the control centre, establishing an emergency room, providing ongoing training and exercises, integrating drones for surveillance, support, and emergency tasks, and maintaining the certifications held by the Port of Tarragona.
