• Will be applied nation wide, in those sites with greater tourist inflow, as beaches, piers, docks and lakes where nautical activities take place.

• The surveillance will be tighter in recreational boats, passenger transportation and touristic boats, for not to exceede the authorized number of passengers.

Mexico City, March 28th, 2007. The Transports and Communications Secretary (SCT) and the Ports and Mercantile Marine Coordination Office, will set in place from the 1st to the 15th of April the safety operative for saving human lives at sea and in interior waters, called “Holy Week 2007", with the purpose of providing assistance, search, rescue and guidance to the thousands of visitors that will be enjoying the first vacational period at the main beaches of our country.

This operative will be applied nation wide in the jurisdictional waters of the ports, by the General Direction of Mercantile Marine of the SCT, through its ports authorities system, located in the coasts of the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Likewise, it will be applied in the main lakes of the country where nautical sports and fishing activities take place.

During this safety operative, will participate 419 elements of the General Direction of Mercantile Marine and Coast Guards personnel, who will carry out an intensive supervision campaign of the recreational boats and of those that provide passengers transportation and turistic services, to verify that they have life vests (for everyone on board) and with the minimum authorized safety equipment.

In those locations with more touristic inflow, as beaches, piers, docks, the Federal Coast Guard personnel will be attentive to provide guidance, assistance, search and/or rescue to the visitor that might need so.

For the accomplishment of this operative, will have the support of 86 patrol boats of several types, 138 land vehicles; over one thousand communication radios, both portable and stationary, that will operate in several frequencies; 60 weather stations for inspecting the local conditions, among other equipment, that will allow to deal with any eventuality that might occur in the national beaches.

In the event that the beaches or the coasts might be affected by any weather phenomenon, the ports authorities will send to the authorities and local radio stations warning messages and bulletins to timely ingorm the citizens on any change of the weather conditions in the mexican coasts.

Before the operative begins, each port authority carried out a local safety plan, along with the civil and military authorities. Likewise, through the several media the broadcast recommendations to the tourists to be ovserved while staying at the beach, which include accidents prevention, the use of life vest, to keep the beaches clean and to take the utmost precautions during navigation, among others.