THE HAGUE--The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament wants to be briefed about the developments at the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard.
The Second Chamber’s Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations sent a request to Dutch Defence Minister Ank Bijleveld-Schouten earlier this week to organise a technical briefing for the committee with Brigadier General Peter Jan de Vin. The briefing, for which a date still has to be set, would be public.
The committee members are keen to hear first-hand what is happening at the Coast Guard, an organisation financed by all four countries of the Dutch Kingdom, with the largest share being paid by the Netherlands.
In May 2018, the Dutch Parliament received the 2017 annual report with the results of last year’s operations in which the devastation in the Windward Islands caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017 played a prominent role.
Due to the direct or indirect consequences of the hurricanes, not all envisioned intentions, commitments and effectiveness indicators from the 2017 annual plan were realised, it was stated in the 2017 annual report.
The annual norm of controls at sea with the Coast Guard cutters and the fast interceptor SuperRHIB boats was not met in 2017. The Coast Guard greatly contributed to the emergency assistance following the hurricanes.
The Coast Guard station in St. Maarten suffered substantial damage during the hurricanes, as did much of the equipment, which included two fast interceptor SuperRHIB boats, the boat lifts and the pier. The facilities in St. Maarten are being rebuilt.
