PHILIPSBURG — Utility company GEBE has been commissioned by the Minister of VROMI to provide the boardwalk in Philipsburg with new lighting. From Walter Plantz Square to Bobby’s Marina, the ornamental lamp posts are being removed and replaced with galvanized steel supports. In total it concerns 46 lampposts, over a distance of almost two kilometers. It is a difficult job for GEBE employees: no one knows exactly where the power lines run, there are no drawings, and the wiring is cast in concrete. This morning, electricians have traced a line that, seen from Walter Plantz Square, runs to the second…
Author: The Publisher
PORT ST. MAARTEN – The turnaround operation involving the Fred Olsen cruise ship Braemar can be considered a success Port St. Maarten Management said on Sunday evening when the operation came to an end around 11:00pm. The turnaround operation included disembarking and embarking passengers at the Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise & Cargo Facility. The turnaround entails when one set of passengers departs the ship and another set embarks. 636 passengers disembarked; 556 embarked; 56 were in transit passengers; four disembarking crew and 380 in transit crew. We have been working closely with the Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM Airport) Operations…
AIRPORT — On Sunday, March 1, 2020, rumors abounded that a massive operation was underway to fly out 550 cruise ship passengers on charter flights. These passengers would be arriving on a cruise ship that was apparently turned away from The Dominican Republic. Tonight the government of Sint Maarten confirmed via a press statement that the cruise ship Braemar of the Fred Olsen cruise line, arrived at Port St. Maarten on Sunday and that a ‘turnaround operation’ had commenced. A turnaround entails when one set of passengers departs the ship and another set embarks. ~ Turnaround operations of Braemar cruise…
By Cdr. Bud Slabbaert In the Caribbean, too little attention is given to the visitor segment of high-end clientele that use private jets to come to a destination. Better not consider them tourists or treat them as tourists. Every passenger who arrives on a private jet is a potential investor in the region…, provided that the destination will meet their standards and criteria, and that they eventually fall in love with the island. They will make the preferred destination part of their lifestyle and invest in that element of their way of life. They are repeat visitors and usually attract…
~ Population reminded to step-up with handwashing and cough/sneeze etiquettes ~ POND ISLAND — The Prime Minister Hon. Silveria Jacobs on Sunday morning activated the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in connection with two confirmed cases of the coronavirus COVID-19 on French Saint Martin. These persons are currently in isolation at the Hospital on the French side and will remain there for 14-days according to the Prefecture. The EOC chaired by the Prime Minister has been activated to continue with the preparedness, response and mitigation measures that need to be taken in connection with the coronavirus COVID-19 and will continue to…
PHILIPSBURG — The Director of Prisons Alwin Keli has been fired from his post. This was confirmed by Minister of Justice Egbert Doran during the Council of Ministers Press conference of Wednesday morning. When questioned about the reasons for the removal of the Director of the Prisons, the Justice Minister did not give any valid reasons but stated that there is a management team at the prison, which will be able to carry through with the process of the reconstruction of the Pointe Blanche prison. He pointed out that there will be no interruption of the management of the prison…
PHILIPSBURG — Police Inspector Ketura Brown has been appointed as the Acting Secretary General for the Ministry of Justice. Justice Minister Egbert Doran in announcing the appointment stated that this comes in the wake of the resignation of the former Secretary General Russel Ursula. Inspector Brown is a career law enforcement officer who joined the ranks of the Police Korps at a tender age and worked her way up through the ranks to the rank of Inspector. Prior to taking up the appointment as Acting Secretary General at the Ministry of Justice, she was appointed to a position at the…
Dear Editor StMaartenNews.com, My wife and I have visited St. Maarten to vacation (at least once each year) for more than 23 years. We love the island and even visited in December 2017 to show our support and make a small contribution to the island’s post-hurricane recovery. Our last visits were in December 2019 and again earlier this month, February 2020. We have seen reasonably good recovery to restaurants and other facilities important to tourists on both the Dutch and French sides, but continue to be disappointed by the slow rebuilding of the island’s most critical infrastructure, the airport. Realizing…
PHILIPSBURG — The Dutch Quarter road project which was stopped several months ago may restart next month. Presently, there are ongoing discussions between the representatives of VROMI, government and the contractor on the project. Minister responsible for VROMI, Christopher Wever, said that the project should start in early March as soon as they are able to “finalize certain details and sign off on the contract, which is also a positive situation,” said Wever. He noted that with the starting of the project, it could only be positive for the people because it is the local contractors who are doing the…
PHILIPSBURG — A former general manager of Curaçao’s Isla refinery asked 5 million dollars in bribes from a Dutch company that wanted to become the new operator of the state-owned plant. The money was never paid. Instead, Count Energy Trading from Rotterdam reported the bribe attempts. The judge has sentenced former Isla-director Roderick van Kwartel to three years in jail. Van Kwartel did not act alone. A company consultant and two employees of the refinery were also served jail sentences, 2.5 years each. The former general manager and accomplices argued at the hearing that they were innocent of bribery because…
