It's a test of survival on Tauranga Harbour today as volunteers take to the water in a training exercise to test safety gear on the ship MV Pacific Hope.

Marine Reach, the organisation that operates Pacific Hope, and Tauranga company Maui Ocean Products are today hosting a simulated rescue using life rafts, with the help of Tauranga Coastguard and harbourmaster.

One of the volunteers is pulled into the life raft. Photos: Bruce Barnard.

Tauranga Coastguard boats and personnel assisting the crew of the Pacific Hope with safety and life boat drills and procedures.

Pacific Hope is Marine Reach's aid ship providing medical treatment and supplies throughout the Pacific Islands. It is currently in Tauranga to undergo a $1 million fitout.

Pacific Hope refit project coordinator Tony Fish says today's training exercise utilises old life rafts that are currently being replaced as part of the refit.

'We have a couple of life rafts, which are beyond their useable date, so rather than just throw them away we will throw them in the water and use it as a bit of a training exercise.

'We are hoping to get about 20-25 people down there but it's always hard to convince people to jump in the water. We have invited a lot of the local fishermen and seafarers, who don't normally get a chance to do this sort of thing.”

Maui Ocean Products managing director Simon Marshall has been helping out with the re-fit and will supply the ship with 25 new life rafts, when the funding becomes available. Each life raft costs $50,000. Because Marine Reach is a non-profit organisation, the crew have to raise money for anything they need.

He was one of the many crew involved in today's exercise which involves throwing one of the old lifeboats into the harbour.

Once in the harbour crew and volunteers jumped into the water and swam to the raft where they were forced to right it before aiding others into the boat.

'Most people see it on television and the big, burly men think they can do it. But it's a whole other story when you're actually doing it.

'Even though conditions are perfect, they will still be tired and cold at the end of the exercise.”

Once onboard swimmers were briefed on the lifeboat's features and taught how to use emergency beacons and flares.

After the exercise, Tony says the life rafts are removed from the harbour and washed down. Crew will then return to the ship to continue work on the re-fit.

'The ship is run by Marine Reach and has been going for about 23 years now based in Tauranga and this is the fourth ship we have had during that time.

'This one [The Pacific Hope] is new to us and we bought it in Japan this time last year and it has been in Tauranga since about August last year.”

The refit project of the 30-year-old ship started at the beginning of this year.

Tony says it just needs a lot of work to upgrade the facilities on board.

'We are repairing paintwork on the outside and upgrading bathrooms at the moment.

'We will eventually fit the ship out with medical equipment so the ship will have a dentistry clinic as well as a surgery clinic and general health clinics on board.”

He says the major project for this year is to build those clinics to enable the ship to head to the South Pacific Islands to aid the smaller communities void of health care.

To donate to Pacific Hope click here.