Cruise ship passenger evacuation part of dockside fire drill in Hobart

A DOCKSIDE fire drill is to be conducted in Hobart alongside the Dawn Princess at Macquarie Wharf.

The Dawn Princess docked at Macquarie Wharf in Hobart early today. Picture: LIBBY SUTHERLAND

A DOCKSIDE fire drill is to be conducted in Hobart alongside the Dawn Princess at Macquarie Wharf.

The Tasmania Fire Service said the exercise, starting at 10am today, would be conducted in conjunction with TasPorts and the cruise vessel.

It will involve the evacuation of about 450 Dawn Princess crew members.

TFS exercise director and senior station officer Andrew Fyfe said three or more crews from the Hobart brigade would take part.

“(The exercise) is designed to test TFS’ capability to respond to an incident on a cruise ship while docked at Hobart Port,” he said in a statement.

“TasPorts will provide leadership and co-ordination during the exercise and will participate in the Incident Management Team, along with senior officers of the cruise ship.

“The ship’s internal firefighting crews and systems will also be tested in this exercise, which will underpin TFS’ capability to lend support to visiting ships.”

There are 46 cruise ships scheduled to visit Hobart during the the 2016-17 season, up from 34 the season before. This will increase to 64 in 2017-18.

Members of the public are asked to stay clear of the area during the exercise.

Originally published as Cruise ship passenger evacuation part of dockside fire drill in Hobart