Marine Safety Day

On May 15, PortsToronto held Marine Safety Day at the Port of Toronto Cruise Ship Terminal. Every spring, this emergency preparedness exercise brings together more than 200 employees who work on the tour boats that operate in Toronto’s Harbour throughout the summer, and provides hands-on experience for emergency scenarios that may be encountered while working on a boat.

PortsToronto, along with expert safety trainers from the Toronto Police Marine Unit and Toronto Fire, guided participants through exercises that simulated fighting a fire, a person overboard, water rescues and abandoning ship—an important training session designed to equip participants with the skills required to deal with any emergency.

A highlight of the day was the 30-second launch and use of a 45-person life raft to practice safe “abandon ship” protocol. Participants also practiced using ring buoys, putting on life preservers, and fighting small fires using fire extinguishers and fire hoses.