The Spanish Army carries out a national maritime security exercise in the Port of Palma

The drill was conducted as the national maritime security exercise MARSEC-26, organised by the Spanish Navy and led by the Deputy Directorate General for External Health of the Ministry of Health, with the aim of reviewing procedures and improving coordination.

SAMU 061, Son Espases University Hospital and the Directorate General of Emergencies test coordination in response to a simulated case of haemorrhagic fever on board a vessel.

The Government of the Balearic Islands took part in MARSEC 2026, organised by the Spanish Navy and directed by the Deputy Directorate General for External Health of the Ministry of Health at the Port of Palma, with the aim of assessing the healthcare system’s response capacity and strengthening coordination among the agencies involved in public health emergencies at maritime points of entry.

The exercise simulated the arrival of a merchant ship with one deceased crew member and two suspected cases of viral haemorrhagic fever, in addition to several close contacts, making it possible to activate the levels of healthcare and emergency management in a coordinated way.

The Regional Minister of Health highlighted that “this type of exercise makes it possible to verify the healthcare system’s response capacity in highly complex situations and to strengthen coordination among all the units involved.”

Public Health focused its participation on verifying and evaluating communication channels and response protocols for highly impactful communicable diseases. The main objective is to identify areas for improvement in procedures in the event of incidents of this kind. These actions make it possible to verify the system’s ability to detect such events early, assess the risk and adopt effective control measures.

To this end, the notification mechanisms between External Health, SAMU 061, the Health Service and the reference hospital were analysed, as well as the application of haemorrhagic fever surveillance protocols and the identification and monitoring of contacts.

SAMU 061 Baleares took part in the drill by deploying its CBRN Intervention Unit (Nuclear, Radiological, Biological and Chemical), specialised in high-complexity incidents.

In this context, the priority is not only clinical care, but also risk containment and early decontamination, a key element in preventing the spread of the agent. Medical intervention in CBRN incidents is based on a strict organisation of the scene into three operational zones, essential for guaranteeing safety.

SAMU 061 Baleares has specific equipment to respond to CBRN incidents. This equipment includes decontamination systems (decontamination tunnels, separate lines for critical and minor patients, and systems for collecting contaminated waste); protective equipment (44 high-resistance CBRN suits, level III, boots and specialised gloves resistant to chemical and biological agents, and positive-pressure breathing equipment); specific filters for gases, vapours and particles; motorised equipment with extended autonomy and toxic gas detection and control systems; contaminant identification systems; and isolation capsules for the safe transport of patients.

This equipment makes it possible to deploy an autonomous, immediate and highly specialised response to highly complex incidents.

The exercise highlighted the importance of coordination from the Medical Emergency Coordination Centre (CCUM 061), responsible for activating specialised resources, and of coordination with 112, firefighters, security forces and authorities, as well as the management of evacuations and hospital transfers.

This organisational model guarantees an integrated, multidisciplinary and scalable response, adapted to the scale of the incident.

The Directorate General of Emergencies and Interior took part by activating the Territorial Civil Protection Plan of the Balearic Islands (PLATERBAL), assuming overall coordination of the operation.

In Thursday’s exercise, 16 April, the Directorate General of Emergencies and Interior took part with a broad technical and human contingent, made up of 21 members of the Directorate General of Emergencies, in addition to 4 Civil Protection volunteers. Also deployed were the Advanced Command Mobile Unit (UCA) and two 6 x 4 metre logistical support tents.

The DGEI contributed leadership, coordination and communications. In this regard, it is worth noting that the Directorate General of Emergencies provides all technicians, agents and administrations involved with a single communication system. It therefore supplied around twenty TETRAIB radios for use by responders, thus guaranteeing the necessary communications during the operation.

Given the serious risk generated by the simulated incident, the Directorate General of Emergencies and Interior of the Government activated the Territorial Civil Protection Plan of the Autonomous Community (PLATERBAL) in Operational Situation 2 (SO2, the third level of PLATERBAL), meaning that command of the emergency operation was assumed by the regional authority and also allowing for the request and participation of extraordinary resources, including state-level resources such as the Military Emergency Unit.

On this occasion, the Directorate General of Emergencies and Interior deployed in large numbers to the port area, where the affected vessel was expected to arrive. In the Port Authority area, a meeting of the CECOP (Operational Coordination Centre) of the PLATERBAL Technical Advisory Committee was convened to adopt the corresponding coordination and response measures.

Son Espases University Hospital, as the reference centre, assessed its healthcare circuits in view of the arrival of patients suspected of having a highly transmissible disease.