Dear Editor,
In 2016 we publicly laid out our vision regarding the important position the Marine Industry plays in our overall tourism-based economy, including the yacht sector. As we stated: Quote; “We have a well-established marine industry in St. Maarten in terms of cruises (only few ports in the Caribbean are capable of receiving the world’s largest cruise ships – Genesis Class), cargo and yachting. Over the past decade our island has invested over US $100M in infrastructure, development and equipment, acquisition and commissioning.” Un-quote from our manifest.
The devastation of Hurricane Irma unfortunately impacted a large chunk of our land-based infrastructure, including most of the large hotels. This led to thousands of our workforce being sent home with little prospect for new employment on short term. Given this fact, it is imperative that we not lose sight of what the marine industry can mean for Sint Maarten which is good for at least 20 per cent of our GDP [gross domestic product – Ed.] in terms of local inclusive development.
Cleaning up of the Simpson Bay Lagoon from the underwater debris left after Irma, must continue unabated and unencumbered by the unfortunate political intrigues plaguing our nation.
Instead, we must put our minds together – refocus our attention to matters such as presenting creative solutions that will encourage the yachting industry to return to Sint Maarten, with the certainty that when they do so, the industry will meet a well trained locally available, professionally trained workforce that they can count on. In the interim leading up to the upgrade of this important sector of our economy, it is imperative that the local authorities, including the SLAC [Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority Corporation – Ed.] , consider the possibility of lowering the bridge fees during this season to help spur business in this sector. Mooring fees can still be charged for vessels that remain longer in our waters. Making the case for lowering bridge fees or to consider the merits of cancelling these fees for a period of three to six months, may be helpful in attracting transient vessels to stop for a few days in Sint Maarten for food provisioning, refueling, dining, etc.
Additionally, we are fully aware that a huge challenge remains in terms of finding personnel to maintain these vessels in Sint Maarten. Now is the time more than ever to work towards establishing a well-trained workforce. This has been one of our firm proposals over the years, and so far not enough effort has been made to create a good and steady basis in this regard. As our local workforce took a hard hit overall, I am convinced that many can be retrained to find gainful employment in the marine and yacht industry. Organizations that created training and upgrade possibilities waited much too long to receive approval.
Approval of the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for seafarers Code (STCW Code) is critical. This is needed to ensure a minimum level of entry for especially our young people ( over 25 per cent unemployed) who have an ambition to work in the yachts industry.
The purpose of this STCW Code is to have everyone at the same entry level in order to ensure the same high standard or basic level of knowledge which will help our younger workforce to be at par with persons from abroad who dominate this field.
The St. Maarten Sailing School is an organization that has been providing such courses for some years to our youth. An official line of approval from the government has been a firm step in the right direction in order to be hired, while stimulating the much-needed job creation in this field.
As we are near the end of a very difficult year 2017 for most of our citizens, we must still make an effort to maintain a positive outlook overall of life. In this regard, I urge the local entities in charge of the causeway and Simpson Bay bridge to do all possible and return more lights to both structures for a festive end of the old year, and a fresh new start for the new year 2018.
Gracita Arrindell
Leader, People’s Progressive Alliance (PPA)
