Navy Commander De Vin: “Maintaining public order should have been our priority”

PHILIPSBURG – With hindsight, the Navy had its priorities wrong when it came to the rescue in Sint Maarten after Hurricane Irma in September of last year. Or rather, the government chose the wrong priorities. Brigade General Peter de Vin, the Commander of the Navy in the Caribbean, says this in an interview published on Tuesday in Alle Hens, a publication of the Navy in Curacao.

“It was beyond our imagination. Especially St. Maarten, Saba and Statia experience hurricanes more often, but nobody had expected this. Hellish natural violence. In spite of the disaster this was a unique operation for us. We have worked hard and helped a lot of people. That what you are doing it for as a soldier.”

But De Vin admits that things could have been done differently. “I am honest about the fact that we have underestimated the situation at the front end. We realized insufficiently that especially the government and the security services were also victims. Taking decisive action during the first 48 hours was difficult and that resulted in looting. At the request of the local government our priorities were offering help and assessing the damages. With what we know now, this should have been maintaining public order and safety.”

Photo caption: Dutch Navy Commander Peter de Vin captured on photo recently during a courtesy visit to the Prime Minister of Sint Maarten, Leona Marlin-Romeo. Photo provided by DCOMM.

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Dutch Marine admits: ‘We underestimated Hurricane Irma’

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