BALTIMORE – Coast Guard Sector Baltimore hosted 23 foreign delegates from the People’s Republic of China Friday.
The delegates are part of the Maritime Safety Administration and the Rescue and Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of Transport.
The purpose of the visit was to compare and contrast the Coast Guard’s practices with their own organizations.
During their visit, they met with Capt. Mark P. O’Malley, the Captain of the Port of Baltimore, and learned about the Coast Guard’s operations, its various missions and the assets they use to carry them out.
“Today’s presentation was very useful for my colleagues,” said Li Zhuo, the general operational office deputy director for the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center. “We will take what we have learned from the Coast Guard and apply it towards developing and improving our search and rescue capability in China.”
Following the meeting, the delegates split into groups and toured the Sector Baltimore Command Center. The visit concluded with a trip to Coast Guard Station Curtis Bay, Md., where the guests saw assets used for Coast Guard missions.
“It was a pleasure and honor to host our guests from the Maritime Safety Administration and the Rescue and Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of Transport from the People’s Republic of China,” said O’Malley. “The missions of these agencies and the U.S. Coast Guard are very similar in that they result in the protection and rescue of distressed mariners, enforcement of our nation’s laws and oversight of our respective maritime transportation systems. Exchanges of this sort help to strengthen the internationally common goal of protecting mariners and transportation systems.”
