The Port of Corpus Christi and United States Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Corpus Christi are co-sponsoring a full-scale exercise, known as “Port CC PREPARED 2023,” to enhance maritime preparedness. The exercise will be held August 25 at the entrance to the Inner Harbor of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel.

“Coordinating this exercise required the efforts of nearly 50 federal, state, local, and nongovernmental organizations,” said Port of Corpus Christi Interim Chief Executive Officer, Kent Britton. “Our team at the Port of Corpus Christi is deeply appreciative of our partnerships with area responders and the agencies they represent. They serve a critical role in preparing for and managing community incidents, and we are proud to support them in that mission.”

The exercise planning committee – which included the Port of Corpus Christi, USCG, City of Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Coastal Bend Council of Governments, Coastal Bend Regional Advisory Council, Refinery Terminal Fire Company, South Texas Waterways Advisory Committee and Texas Division of Emergency Management – developed the exercise to test incident response plans and procedures.

“This is a great opportunity for the entire emergency response community to come together and work collectively to practice how we respond to a mass rescue event on the water,” said U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Jason Gunning, commander, Sector Corpus Christi. “While not the most common risk in this area, it’s still important that we consider this type of complex response and practice recovery of numerous passengers while simultaneously fighting a vessel fire. I thank all the area emergency responders for their eight months of planning for this exercise and their proactive stance toward keeping our waterways safe.”

The exercise will focus on marine firefighting and mass rescue operations as well as incident management and unified command. “History has proven that having a response plan in place for these types of incidents saves lives and protects assets,” said Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni. “This exercise allows us to train with other agencies to achieve that goal.”

The training exercise will commence at 9:15 a.m., August 25, and end at 1:00 p.m. Related activity will be visible land-side and water-side from North Shoreline Boulevard, in front of American Bank Center. A marine safety zone has been enacted for the exercise area. No impact to surrounding communities is expected.