Success Stories: Coast Guard Evacuates 248 Cruise Ship Crew & Passengers

Objective: Build a Nimble, Effective Emergency Response System and a Culture of Preparedness

Situation		Action
May 14, 2007 at 12:35 AM: Cruise Ship Empress of the North sends an emergency radio message Cruise Ship Empress of the North runs aground near Juneau, AK; ship is taking on water This real world emergency occurs during Alaska Shield Northern Edge 07, a DHS exercise involving simulated terrorist attacks, train derailments and errant Russian aircraft		US Coast Guard helicopters and ships as well as Good Samaritan vessels quickly respond and arrive on the scene to provide assistance USCG leads effort to evacuate all passengers Escorted by Coast Guard Cutter Liberty, essential crew members remain onboard the paddle wheel cruise ship, refloat her and return her to Juneau under her own power
Result
All 248 cruise ship crew and passengers are evacuated from Empress of the North in less than four hours The passengers then board the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry Columbia for transport to Juneau No passengers are injured as a result of incident Successful evacuation: result of annual exercise involving state & local agencies and industry
		NEXT       Case# 0000020 05/30/2007

This page was last modified on September 7, 2007