Mermaid was involved in an imaginary collision with another vessel and all the units involved in the incident responded, co-ordinated from the MCA operations room at Dover Coastguard.

A number of people were declared 'missing' overboard (simulated by dummies) and some onboard casualties were enacted by personnel from the Aches Casualty Bureau.

All overboard casualties were quickly recovered by lifeboats and airlifted by an RAF rescue helicopter to a local hospital.

Fire fighters were put aboard the ship by helicopter and from the commercial tug Lady Morag .Once the 'fire' on board the vessel was 'extinguished' the THV Mermaid was taken in tow by the Coastguard tug Anglian Monarch . Various departments from the MCA took part along with, three RNLI lifeboats, the Kent Fire and Rescue service, French and RAF helicopters, the Kent Ambulance service, two French lifeboats and a number of French Coastguards.

A major feature of the exercise was to ensure that in a major incident in the English Channel communications between all emergency services and the various authorities involved worked satisfactorily. To that end French Coastguards from Gris Nez worked alongside MCA staff at in the Dover operations room, enhancing the learning process and making communications easier. Valverde Fabrice, a French Coastguard who worked alongside British Coastguards at Dover commented: 'It was very interesting to work alongside a British Coastguard - although we have the same jobs, our ways of working are quite different'.

Manchex 2004 was also regarded as part of the Entente Cordiale celebrations, which this year mark 100 years of Anglo French co-operation.

British Shipping Minister, David Jamieson attended along with his French counterpart Francois Goulard, the French Minister for Transport and Shipping. They were shown around the operations room as the incident began, then over flew the exercise in the British Coastguard helicopter India Juliet.