Dear Editor,
Having been involved with the consequences of hurricanes in the marine sector for many years, I can say without any doubt that the damage that will result from Hurricane Irma will be disproportionate due to the slow reaction by those wishing to minimize losses to their vessels.
When a vessel is sunk, deterioration occurs as a result of batteries being underwater, fuels being present, acids in the polluted lagoon bottom, high salt content and stray currents. The longer the submersion, the worse the damage.
Undoubtedly the slowness of the reaction to this hurricane was made worse by the lack of a functioning airport that kept away decision-makers and a following hurricane also slowing things up.
But the marine sector had a big shock when it was declared by the Government that all salvaging of vessels needed to be approved by a Ministry.
If there had been a declaration defining measures that needed to be followed that minimized environmental damage, nobody would have been shocked.
This declaration was by the same Ministry that said all building reconstruction needed their approval, which was quickly corrected.
The big difference, of course, is that whilst the Ministry of [Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure – Ed.] VROMI has numerous professionals with appropriate qualifications that have the expertise to evaluate building plans, to the best of my knowledge they do not have the same level of expertise when it comes to marine salvage.
The declaration was quickly posted on social media and all around the world there was reaction that concluded that here was another case of regulation without expertise and heavy-handed control without understanding of the challenges. This could have been easily avoided with communications that dealt with the results that the Ministry was attempting to achieve (environmental protection?).
The Marine Sector has been professionally measured to constitute the drive behind 15 per cent of our Sint Maarten economy. It was also the sector that could rebound the fastest and attract outside capital in this critical period where getting the economy going is critical to the entire country. It is a sector that has a high tax contribution and minimal expense by government in facilitation.
Should we not be smart and strategic about retaining this sector?
Robbie Ferron
