Anti-exposure suits substituted for real survivors and were transferred from a "damaged" ferry boat to a rescue vessel. Shepler's ferry boat The Hope (left) was renamed the Vacationland for the drill and the Arnold Transit Company's Mackinac Express took the role of the rescue vessel. Transferring passengers from the Vacationland is Pat Springate (left). Piloting the vessel was Captain Billy Shepler. Onboard the Mackinac Express are (from left) Garth Law, Julia Law, and Steve Hoaglund. Piloting the Arnold boat was Captain Joe Snowaert. A collision between a ferry boat and a fuel barge, an oil spill in Moran Bay, and a threatened terrorist plot, all of which were simulated, tested the abilities of local, state, and federal agencies in a training drill last week in St. Ignace.

The staged events began Tuesday, September 9, and continued until Thursday, September 11, allowing more than 50 agencies to work on collaborating, communicating, and responding to three possible emergency situations.

The events were staged to test the area's maritime security plan, mass rescue operations, and environmental contamination plans. Evaluators assessed where improvements could be made to each plan.

Matthew Hagerty and Tracy McKnight volunteered to participate in Operation Dire Straits Wednesday, September 10. The two are studying fire science at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie. Working in the triage area, they used information cards attached to the anti-exposure suits that portrayed rescued survivors. With heavy ferryboat and freighter traffic in the Straits of Mackinac, this area has the potential for a mass emergency, said Captain Mark Huebschman, Coast Guard sector commander from Sault Ste. Marie, explaining why the Straits area was chosen for the exercise this year.

"The intent is to see how we would come together as a unified command," he said, and establish relationships and communication with local response organizations. "Communication always really is key to an incident like this."

Simulated events began September 9 with security concerns about a potential terrorism plot in the Straits. The drill was a joint effort of the Coast Guard, U.S. Customs, and U.S. Border Patrol.

Wearing a life vest and protective gear against the cold waters of Lake Huron, tethered swimmer Craig Skutt of Star Line Ferry LaSalle rescues "swimmers" from Moran Bay during a simulated mass rescue Wednesday, September 10. During Operation Dire Straits, bright orange anti-exposure suits floating in the water were used in place of swimmers. On deck the LaSalle and assisting is Larry Spencer. The boat was piloted by Captain Chuck Gibbons. All three ferry boat lines participated in the drill, along with more than 50 agencies. During the drill, a radiation pager signaled a warning of a potential bomb. The Michigan State Civil Support Team was called in as part of the exercise and conducted a simulated sweep of the old Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, now a floating museum in Mackinaw City, and found the mock explosive material. The team then went through the steps required to disable the bomb.

The simulation moved to Moran Bay September 10, in a simulated collision between Shepler's ferry boat The Hope and the fuel-oil-carrying Barge 4100 being pushed by the tug Chris played out just offshore of St. Ignace, at a distance from actual ferry boat traffic. During the drill, The Hope was called the Vacationland and was intended to represent any passenger carrying vessel.

At right: During Operation Dire Straits, crew aboard the Station St. Ignace Coast Guard boat deploy an oil spill containment boom as they leave the city boat launch Thursday, September 11. The top portion of the boom is a yellow air tube. Beneath the surface is an 18-inch skirt that serves to trap pollutants. Pictured are (from left) Coast Guard Auxiliary member Brian Elliot of Marquette, Boatswains' Mate First Class Ben Lallier of St. Ignace, Bobby Brown of Mackinac Environmental, and Boatswains' Mate Third Class Kyle Magenheimer of St. Ignace. The drill tested water rescues and radio communication. Sixty people needed to be rescued from the water. A safety perimeter was established on land and in the water, and radio communications among boat captains, the Coast Guard, and police always ended with "This is a drill," which was repeated several times to make it clear to any potential recreational and commercial boat traffic in the area that there was no real accident.

Anti-exposure suits were thrown into the water to represent boat passengers in need of rescue. The Star Line Ferry LaSalle was one of the first rescue vessels on the scene. Employee Craig Skutt donned protective gear and became a tethered swimmer rescuing passengers from the cold water.

The exercise helped test the skills of the crew to see how quickly they moved into action. The drill also tested communications from the swimmer to the deckhand, to the captain, as they maneuvered to reach those in the water.

A Coast Guard helicopter from the Traverse City Air Station was on the scene ready to assist with the rescue and to assess fuel spillage in the bay. A temporary five-mile flight restriction was imposed for all aircraft except the rescue helicopter.

Those pulled from the water were met on the shore by emergency workers, who set up a triage area. Fire crews were on site ready to decontaminate anyone covered with fuel or oil.

On land, an incident command post was set up at Little Bear East Arena and a Mackinac County emergency operations center was established at the State Police Post in St. Ignace.

For passengers pulled from the water, operations continued as they reached land and emergency crews pretended to assess their conditions before transferring them to area hospitals.

By the next morning, September 11, the exercise focused on the area's environmental response to the oil spill from the mock collision.

Oil spill recovery teams from local, state, and federal agencies were dispatched to contain and recover approximately 5,000 to 6,000 gallons of fuel oil.

Booming operations were tested as Coast Guard Station St. Ignace and Mackinac Environmental worked together to contain the oil. Booms were set around the barge to contain the oil that was seeping into the bay. They also were placed around the city's water intake area to prevent the oil from getting into the water supply. Sensitive wildlife areas were considered for booming. A simulated effort was underway to remove all remaining fuel oil from the barge.