PORT ANGELES — Coast guard-related crews from around the Pacific Rim practiced search and rescue, law enforcement and other drills together in the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Tuesday.
The mariners from Japan, South Korea, China, Russia, Canada and the United States were taking part in a training exercise called “Pacific Unity.”
Ships participating in the exercise were U.S. Coast Guard cutters Henry Blake and Midgett, Canadian Coast Guard cutter Provo Wallis, Canadian hovercraft Siyay, Japanese Coast Guard cutter Yashima and the Russian border guard vessel Vorovskiy.
Observing nations
The South Korean and Chinese representatives participated as observers.
The ships arrived in Port Angeles on Sunday and left Wednesday morning for a closing ceremony in Seattle today.
The crews from each nation also got together at Lincoln Park on Monday for a softball tournament and a barbecue where they were greeted by Mayor Gary Braun.
Each of the three planned exercises took place Tuesday in the waters a few miles from Port Angeles, said U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Allyson Conroy.
The purpose of Pacific Unity, which first began in 2000, she said was for the Coast Guard-related services of each nation to learn to cooperate well during emergencies at sea.
Search for mannequins
Conroy said the first operation consisted of the Vorovskiy crew searching for two mannequins dropped in the Strait by the U.S. Coast Guard.
“It went incredibly smoothly,” she said, adding that they found the mannequins “very quickly” by using the bearings provided to them.
Conroy said their efforts were also helped by a whale watching boat that found the dummies and called the Coast Guard.
She said U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard officers were on board the ship observing the crew.
The importance of that, Conroy said, is for both nations to know how each other responds to an emergency.
“Now we can all talk together and know . . . we are coordinating the exact same way to save a life,” she said.
Next, a Japanese law enforcement team boarded the U.S. cutter Midgett to simulate a hostage situation.
“The purpose of this is to share ideas,” Conroy said.
“We have those types of teams as well.”
Navigational buoys
For the third operation, U.S. and Canadian coast guards swapped crews to place each other’s navigational buoys in the water.
Because of such exercises, Conroy said each nation can respond to each other’s faulty buoys.
“If there is only an American cutter in the water . . . are they going to know how to work the Canadian buoy? Yes, they will,” she said.
Conroy said the barbecue at Lincoln Park was also a success.
“Everyone seemed to get along really, really well,” she said.
While there was fun to be had, Conroy said the get-together is also an important part of the drills.
“You get a better understanding of who you are working with,” she said.
“You need to be able to trust the person standing next to you, whether you are Russian, Japanese, South Korean or U.S.”
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
