A fleet off the coast of Martinique? In early February, a joint exercise was held by Martinique’s naval forces, with support from private sector entities in the territory. The goal? To prepare the forces and the public in the event of a maritime disaster: a shipwreck and a high risk of an oil spill.
Anti-Pollution Exercise
On February 10, numerous vessels gathered off the coast of Martinique to conduct an exercise outlined in the maritime ORSEC plan, bringing together various stakeholders from the maritime sector and crisis response agencies: the Antilles-Guyana Regional Operational Center for Surveillance and Rescue (CROSS AG), the Operational Center (CENTOPS) of the FAA (Armed Forces of the Antilles), and the crisis response team of the Martinique Prefecture. A similar exercise had been held on the 1ster April 2025, off the coast of Fort-de-France Bay, named POLMAR 25.
This year, the exercise was based on a scenario planned in advance: off the coast of the towns of Carbet and Bellefontaine, a passing oil tanker struck an unidentified object. This incident caused a fire on board the ship as well as an oil spill into the sea.
Oil spill?
When an event of this kind occurs, the ORSEC plan must therefore be activated to prevent an oil spill, which would have catastrophic consequences for the environment of Martinique and the neighboring islands.
The activation of the maritime ORSEC plan makes it possible to first launch a rescue operation for the ship’s crew and then coordinate efforts to contain the oil spill in order to prevent an oil spill at all costs. A full-scale fleet was deployed for this exercise, with vessels from the Martinique Marine Nature Reserve and the SNSM joining military ships and an aircraft from the Air and Space Force’s reserve squadron.
Training the various stakeholders each year is essential not only to prepare people mentally and physically to respond quickly, but also to reinforce the importance of coordination among them—a crucial factor in the mission’s success. Train hard, fight easy; protecting our natural resources comes at this price!
