The Municipality of Moerdijk, the Ministry of Defense, and the Safety Region are conducting a joint exercise in the Port of Moerdijk

The Municipality of Moerdijk, the Central and West Brabant Safety Region, the Port of Moerdijk, and the Ministry of Defense conducted a joint exercise in the Port of Moerdijk on October 13, 16, and 17. During the exercise, participants practiced crisis management and the surveillance and security of the port area. The goal was to strengthen cooperation and mutual trust so that the organizations can act together when necessary.

Photo: Ministry of Defense, Stuart de Vries

What happened during the exercise?

On Tuesday, October 13, the Safety Region conducted its annual system test, which simulates a crisis. In this year’s exercise scenario, a fire broke out on board a U.S. naval vessel carrying military cargo at CCT in the Centrale Insteekhaven. The fire spread to military vehicles on the deck. Due to the heavy smoke, intensive coordination among the organizations involved was necessary.

Emergency services and crisis response personnel conducted a drill to respond to this simulated incident. Among other things, the drill tested information sharing, decision-making, and coordination procedures.

On Friday, October 16, and Saturday, October 17, reservists from the 30th Infantry Battalion Guard and Protect (IBB) of the National Reserve Corps practiced guarding and securing the CCT grounds. The Infantry Battalion is deployed as part of the support the Netherlands provides to foreign military units traveling through or staying in our country, as in this exercise scenario. In doing so, they also built upon the earlier exercise scenario that the crisis management team practiced on October 13.

Getting to Know and Trust Each Other

During an incident, there’s little time to figure out who does what. By practicing together, organizations get to know each other’s procedures and gain a better understanding of what they can expect from one another. This allows us to build mutual trust and test whether our agreements work in practice.

The findings should lead to concrete improvements, such as clearer agreements, better information sharing, or adjustments to work procedures. By subsequently assessing whether those improvements are effective, the exercise contributes to a better-prepared and more resilient Moerdijk municipality.