By Mario A. Cortez
Over the span of the past week, local and federal law enforcement agencies conducted maritime threat drills on San Diego Bay.
On Wednesday, April 27, the combined forces showed off a collaborative exercise on board the Hornblower Inspiration vessel, regularly used for gala dinners and party cruises.
Wednesday’s drills began at 11:30 a.m. with diving teams plunging into the water around the USS Midway Museum to conduct an underwater operation. The elaborate sea ship SWAT response drill began promptly at 1 p.m. with the arrival of two Blackhawk helicopters. In this exercise, six Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) agents fast roped down onto the Hornblower vessel, currently docked at the Grape Street Pier on the Embarcadero.
City of San Diego Lifeguard Chief Rick Wurts shared some insight into Wednesday’s emergency rehearsal.
“In this situation, a team will board and secure the boat. The current scenario involves diffusing a criminal situation with lots of citizens on board a cruise ship. Several law enforcement agencies with maritime presence are partaking in this exercise.”
Harbor Police Chief John Bolduc also spoke to La Prensa San Diego about the drill.
“Although the vessel is docked, this rescue scenario can occur anywhere in a maritime environment. Anytime you deal with a vessel drill, you simulate something that happen anywhere in or out of San Diego Bay, or even in open waters.”
This training is a part of a strong commitment on behalf of all agencies operating in the region to provide effective responses whenever they are needed.
“The San Diego region is among the best prepared for emergencies in the nation because we do exercises on an annual basis. Our men and women are well trained and equipped. We drill often so we can have have a very well prepared region,” Bolduc stated.
Wurts also emphasized the strong collaboration and commitment to readiness from local law enforcement and rescue agencies.
“We run drills several times a year. Last fall we staged an exercise simulating an airliner crash where teams had to come together and rescue passengers from the water. Today’s focus is more about law enforcement tactics.”
The full preparation exercises began on April 25. Thirteen local and federal agencies collaborated in testing their joint preparedness and response to maritime distress through Thursday, April 28.