2021 | Quarter 4

Penang Port Sdn Bhd (Penang Port), a member of MMC Group, has introduced drones as the company's latest asset for surveillance and security monitoring within the port area.  The Penang Port Air Unit was established for this purpose to manage all activities involving handling of drones within the port.

To commemorate this latest asset, Penang Port Fire and Rescue Unit together with Penang Port Air Unit, organised a joint training rescue mission exercise at N1, North Butterworth Container Terminal. This training scenario dramatised a situation that an employee was found fainted on top of a Quay Gantry Crane. Prior to the arrival of the fire and rescue crews, a drone was flown to the crane as the first response to monitor the condition of the victim. Based on observations of the aerial footage taken by the drone, the emergency teams were able to ascertain the victim's condition and deploy an appropriate support to rescue the victim. During the rescue exercise, the Penang Port Fire and Rescue Unit used the High Angle Rope Rescue method to bring down the victim from the crane.

Dato' Sasedharan Vasudevan, Chief Executive Officer of Penang Port together with the Heads of Departments were present to witness the rescue exercise. "At Penang Port, we ensure that our workplace operates in the highest safety and health standards for all our employees and port users from any dangerous risks. Drones provide easy access to aerial data of a large area, which gives the rescue team the ability to save time and help the victim, where every second count," he said.

Based on the results from the drill post-mortem, it can be concluded that drones have helped to reduce rescue time and provide fast and accurate information regarding the victim's condition to the emergency teams.

corporatecomm@mmc.com.my