GREAT BAY — Member of Parliament and leader of the United People’s (UP) Party, Theodore E. Heyliger sent an open letter by way of the Dutch Representative’s office in Philipsburg to the Dutch Government in The Hague. We hereby publish this letter below. A WORD OF GRATITUDE TO THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT AND ITS PEOPLE. TO: Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Dutch nation, On the night of Tuesday 5th to Wednesday September 6th 2017, our island was hit by hurricane Irma. This caused tremendous devastations, both on vital infrastructure, including roads, the airport and the port of Sint Maarten,…
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Philipsburg — Following the press release by President and Managing Director Jeff Boyd of Yacht Club Port de Plaisance regarding it’s reopening on November 1st, he and his management team would also like to keep the people of Sint Maarten informed of their efforts to ensure that Yacht Club Port de Plaisance may resume regular business as soon as possible by securing the required specialized equipment for the removal of sunken vessels. Boyd said “As you can imagine, time is of the essence with the yachting season approaching in less than 30 days and thus the rebuilding of the marinas,…
Simpson Bay — Due to Hurricane Irma causing significant damage to underwater life because of storm surge and strong water motion, the Sint Maarten Nature Foundation conducted initial Marine Park and Dive Site assessment to determine the level of impact underwater. Initial marine assessment was carried out from the 28th of September until the 6th of October 2017. Several St Maarten dives sites in the Man of War Shoal Marine Park and around the island have been surveyed for reef and coral damage, marine life presence and to assess the mooring systems for dive operators. The Nature Foundation will start…
PORT ST. MAARTEN – Royal Caribbean Line’s (RCL) Grandeur of the Seas will be the first commercial cruise vessel to return to the destination post-Irma on Sunday, November 5th. RCL as of that date will also be carrying out an adjusted cruise itinerary for the remainder of 2017 which will be published within short. Grandeur of the Seas was launched in 1996 and is part of the Vision-class of RCL. The vessel has 11 decks and carries 2,446 passengers and 760 crew, and went through a comprehensive revitalization in Cadiz, Navantia Shipyard in May 2012. A delegation from RCL recently…
Oranjestad – The Board of financial supervision Aruba (CAft) considers the compliance with the budgetary norms for 2017 and later years crucial in decreasing the government debt of Aruba and making the public finance sustainable. This is what Raymond Gradus indicated during his first visit to Aruba as CAft chairman. For 2017 a strict supervision is essential to comply with the projected measures to reduce the financing deficit. Considering the results of the first half year, CAft is concerned about the disappointing income and increasing expenses. In addition the CAft has insisted during its visit to present the 2018 budget…
CAY HILL – On Friday October 6th the final Emergency Operations Center (EOC) meeting was held at the Fire & Ambulance Building, marking the end of the emergency response to Hurricane Irma. The next phase will be the road to recovery, which entails the rebuilding of Sint Maarten. The EOC was called in to action on September 1st in preparation for the approaching Hurricane Irma. Since that time the EOC has met regularly and at the peak of the response at least once daily. The EOC consists of 10 Emergency Support Function (ESF) Groups led by Prime Minister William Marlin…
SIMPSON BAY – On Tuesday 10-10-17, Prime Minister William Marlin and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication Melissa Arrindell Doncher welcomed the 1st commercial flights to Sint Maarten marking the re-opening of PJIAE / SXM Airport. The two Ministers were present 7:50 am in the morning to welcome the first flight, WINAIR that arrived from Saba beginning the historic day that saw 6 flights land with one cancellation. Around midday a festive welcome ceremony was organized that included live music, ladies in beautiful carnival costumes, give away items, finger food snacks & cold beverages. The special welcome was…
Man arrested during search Based on information of possible illegal fire-arm possession a search of a popular night club located on the A. Th. Illidge road was conducted on Tuesday at approximately 10.30 a.m. During this search a male suspect with initials M.C.M. was arrested after a considerable amount of U.S., Euro and Guilders currency was found. The suspect could not give an acceptable account regarding this money. These monies were confiscated for further investigation. The suspect was taken to the Philipsburg Police Head Quarters where he remains in custody for questioning. Two suspects arrested in break-in Based on the…
Pond Island – TelEm Group announced it will be giving customers some extra days grace to pay their July bills which are currently due. Disconnection notices placed in the local media recently say the last day of payment for July bills was Tuesday, October 10, 2017 with disconnections due the following day, Wednesday October 11, however, management says it will extend the payment due date for July bills to October 16th to better accommodate customers. “Our Simpson Bay location is closed and after the downpour of rain Tuesday, we are unable to open our Bush Road location as planned, therefore…
PHILIPSBURG – The Parliament of Sint Maarten will meet in sessions on Wednesday, October 11, 2017 as follows. Continuation Plenary Session of Parliament about disaster management and reconstruction following hurricane Irma The Plenary Session of Parliament will reconvene on Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 9.00 am in the Legislative Hall of the House of Parliament at Wilhelminastraat #1 in Philipsburg. This session started on Monday, September 25, 2017 and continued on Thursday, September 28, 2017 and Wednesday, October 4, 2017. The agenda point is: State of preparedness hurricane season, Disaster management hurricane Irma, Reconstruction following the devastation by hurricane Irma…
