Kiel fire brigade trains for the emergency: Large exercise on the oil tanker!

in Kiel, especially in the Friedrichsort district, took place on April 14, 2025, exercise measures for the special forces of the Kiel fire brigade. The exercise scenario included a fire of an oil tanker that was attached to the pier of a shipyard. During the exercise, smoke was simulated by fog machines and flashing lights in order to present the emergency as realistically as possible.

A helicopter was sent to the exercise location from which the emergency services abseiled to a 50 meter long ship to carry out fire fighting. The exercise was led by Benjamin Neugebauer, the training manager of the Kiel fire brigade. Firefighters train about 80 hours a year for such operations and have been called to alarms on the North and Baltic Sea in the past five years.

Details of the incident with the tanker Annika

In parallel to the exercises in Kiel, the Havarieprando Fire fighting on board the tanker Annika. This assignment, which started on October 11, 2024, successfully ended with the rescue of seven crew members who were medical care. The fire that broke out in the machine room of the ship had grasped the entire rear, but the cargo remained unaffected.

After the fire fighting, the tanker was towed to a berth in the port of Rostock. Around 120 emergency services, including the fire brigades from Rostock and Lübeck, were involved in combating the fire and the subsequent examination of the ship. During the towing process, the Kiel fire brigade was present on board as a fire guard. In addition, the Technical Relief Agency (Rostock local association) supported the work on the berth.

In order to prevent water pollution, an oil lock was laid around the accident, and divers examined the ship for possible trunk damage. The condition of the tanker was rated as stable, while investigations by the police were initiated as the exact cause of the fire.