Lobito - A large-scale drill was held Thursday at the Port of Lobito to gauge the efficiency of the infrastructure's response plan to acts of terrorism, ANGOP has learnt.
The exercise, held as part of the celebrations for the 96th anniversary of the Port of Lobito, celebrated on the 24th of this month, centred on an episode of terrorism.
When automatic weapons were detected in a piece of luggage, accompanied by hand grenades, which was intended to be taken on board, the ship's captain was alerted to the existence of ammunition on board, suspected of having been loaded at the port.
The drill included, among other scenarios, a simulation of the neutralisation of a group of terrorists who had planted an explosive device in Lobito's port facilities, demanding that it not be detonated and that they leave the facilities.
Various bodies took part in the exercise, including the security forces, including the Angolan Navy, the Criminal Investigation Services, Port Security, the Civil Protection and Fire Services, the Port Captaincy, the national police and the Port Clinic Medical Services, among others.
In this drill, the Angolan Navy, through the Southern Naval Region, took part with a speedboat, a team of divers and another of marines, with the aim of thwarting the act of terrorism.
At the end of the event, which was carried out in accordance with the ISPS code, Port of Lobito´s CEO, Celso Rosas, stressed that it had exceeded expectations, as it enabled the company's organisational and operational capacity to be assessed in emergency situations, in coordination with all the forces involved in the security of the Port of Lobito.
Celso Rosas also emphasised the importance of ports carrying out similar exercises every year to gauge their ability to respond to anomalous situations such as terrorism and beyond, and considered the event a success.
He also pointed out that the drill was part of the port company's annual training programme and emergency plan.
The CEO said that the company periodically carries out drills, either exclusively in-house or involving external resources, in order to test its emergency plan and adjust the intervention capacity and operational agility of the forces involved.
Asked about possible occurrences of this kind, the PCA said that "fortunately there haven't been any because, in terms of security, the port is at level 1, which means that surveillance is centred 24 hours a day".
"It starts in the waters, before the ship docks, and culminates with the movement of people, with total control," he said.
He also said that criminals know the harbour and don't try to enter because they know that surveillance is "tight".
Rear Admiral João Manuel Ambrósio, deputy commander of the Southern Naval Region for Patriotic Education, said that exercises like this should be repeated several times, as they are necessary for training the forces responsible for the security of ships and port facilities.
According to João Manuel Ambrósio, these exercises also make it possible to identify improvements to be implemented in the processes for coordinating real emergency situations, thus complying with the most demanding national and international security requirements.
The drill was attended by the executive and non-executive directors of the Port of Lobito, various representatives of defence and security bodies, directors, heads of departments and employees of the port company.
It should be remembered that in 2023 a fire drill was held on the north quay, with the aim of assessing the response capacity of the teams assigned to the port security services, the navy and the civil protection and fire services. TC/CRB/DAN/DOJ
