GREAT BAY – President of the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) Alston Lourens has stated that the foundation fully intends to host Carnival 2018. He recalled that Carnival 1996 is fondly remembered as one of the best ever following Hurricane Luis and the foundation is determined to repeat that feat after hurricane Irma. The board of the foundation has already met to assess the situation and will continue to organize the event in collaboration with its stakeholders. Eight booths in the Carnival Village have been destroyed but the board says it will discuss plans moving forward with the relevant…
Author: The Publisher
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Great Bay — Almost anyone or any group of people can remove excess waste that washed up along the shoreline in Philipsburg, but removing a 75-ton pontoon, that washed up on to the boardwalk, requires a special group of persons who are experienced in that particular field. Sometime during the early hours of Wednesday, September 6th, a pontoon, property of Bobby’s Marina miraculously made its way across the Boardwalk. Had it not been for the BVLGARI Jewel Store which was directly in its path, it could have ended up elsewhere with the possibility of causing severe structural damages. (See photo…
SXM Airport — The Spirit Airlines flight NK 8080 landed yesterday at Princess Juliana International SXM Airport as promised. The free relief flight, courtesy of the management of the Florida-based airline company, did two things today. It brought back home a group of St. Maarteners who were stranded in the United States and it took away passengers that were more than eager to capitalize on the free trip out of St. Maarten. While it remains unclear what the exact seating capacity was, from the number of persons that were seen at the entrance of the available point of entry at…
PHILIPSBURG — Minister responsible for Aviation Affairs Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher has re-iterated that no official date has been announced by government for the resumption of commercial flights into St. Maarten. The Minister stressed that travelers need to be careful with any information unless it comes from the official source, in other words, the government of St. Maarten. She said there is some confusion being created by, among other things, airlines announcing dates that they hope to resume service to the island. In some cases, airlines are allowing people to book tickets although the green light has not been given by government…
Point Blanche – Seven Seas Water quickly resumed its regular production of water for St. Maarten after the passing of Category 5 hurricanes Irma and Maria. The company suffered minimal damages to its water production plants in Point Blanche, Cay Bay and Cupecoy through a combination of sound facilities construction and comprehensive storm preparation based on many years of successful operation in the Caribbean. Seven Seas Water is proud to report that it is meeting the water production requirements for its client. No damage to company production plants after hurricane Seven Seas Water has a proven track record of reliably…
St. Peter’s Hill — “To be honest, I wasn’t ready for Irma or even ready for what happened after it.” says 19-year old Linda Gibson, a former student of St. Maarten Academy who graduated this year, in an interview with TODAY reporter, Julie Alcin. St. Maarten Academy graduate recounts her personal experiences during Hurricane Irma “Even before it came, I was panicking. I wanted to go to a safer place, because I didn’t know if my house was safe – it’s made out of concrete but it’s old. And as the day came closer, my panic got worse. I couldn’t…
PHILIPSBURG – On Tuesday September 26th, Ludovic Poitou, Commander of the Thunder, PCB (Projection Building and Command) navy ship of the French Navy, currently based in St. Martin waters, invited dignitaries of Dutch Sint Maarten namely, Governor Eugène Holiday, Prime Minister William Marlin and Minister of Justice Rafaël Boasman. Joining them from the French side were Prefet Anne Laubies and 2nd Vice President of the community, Yawo Nyuiadzi, for a tour of the vessel, that has deployed human and technical resources on Fremch St. Martin since September 23rd . Based in Toulon, Thunder is a versatile warship of 199 m,…
Philipsburg – The general public is reminded that building or making changes to a building without an approved building permit, is in violation of article 7 of the Building Ordinance. A building stop is in effect for all construction activities without a valid permit. Building stop is in effect for all construction activities without a valid permit Home or property owners who are planning to reconstruct, repair or rebuild are requested to report to the Ministry of VORMI’s Inspection/Permits Department in the New Government Building on the Pond Island and fill out a building permit request form on Monday through…
Philipsburg – In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma and Maria, the Ministry of VROMI will be assessing all damaged structures. The Ministry of VROMI will be assessing inhabitable and damaged beyond repair structures The assessments will be executed via joint inspections conducted by the Inspection and Permits Department. The group will be split in teams of specialized inspectors who will be listing uninhabitable structures and structures that have been deemed damaged beyond repair. All structures that are deemed a danger and damaged beyond repair will be marked for demolition. Photo caption: VROMI Yellow Building itself damaged beyond repair. Photo by…
It is impossible to estimate the economic impact of Hurricane Irma on St. Maarten right now. That the impact will be severe is obvious, but how bad is it going to be? With 80 percent of the room inventory destroyed, stay-over tourism will collapse. Cruise ships will not come to the island as long as its infrastructure is in a shambles. If the island is gonna miss, say, 500,000 cruise passengers over the next six months, the local economy will see roughly $90 million go up in smoke, based on an average spending of $180 per passenger. The government will…
