'Food flotilla for Myanmar': Volunteers ready for any eventuality

Among the trainings given to them include fire drill, basic first aid and the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

'Nautical Aliya' commander Capt Mohd Firdaus Faisal Mohamad, 42, said such trainings were needed to ensure that the volunteers would always be alert to the safety aspect while onboard the vessel.

"Being on a ship is different than being on the land...That's why training is needed to ensure that they are always ready and we cannot be complacent even for a second," he said when met onboard the vessel here today.

Firdaus also said the volunteers were now not allowed to be on the main deck after 10pm to ensure their safety.

Echoing the same sentiment was Universiti Malaya Medical Centre chief heart surgeon Prof Raja Amin Raja Mokhtar.

He said the drills would enhance the confidence and efficiency levels among the volunteers should there be any emergency case onboard.

The vessel, ferrying 2,300 tonnes of food, medicine, items of daily needs, clothes and blankets is expected to sail for 18 days across the Andaman Sea for Yangon and refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The mission, which enters its fourth day, is organised by 1Malaysia Putra Club and the Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organisation, with the cooperation of Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi Foundation from Turkey.