ENVIRONMENT: 212 shipwrecks evacuated from Saint-Martin waters

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This Tuesday, November 29, 2022 is now a big day for Saint-Martin, it marks the end of the public market for the collection and treatment of wrecks of out-of-service boats (BHU) in the waters of the territory.

For the occasion, all the actors met at the Sandy Ground shipyard in the evening, including Louis Mussington, president of the community carrying the large-scale project, Bernadette Davis and Dominique Démocrite-Louisy, respectively 2nd and 3rd vice-presidents, Vincent Berton, Delegate Prefect of the Northern Islands, Senator Annick Pétrus, Pierre-Emmanuel Leclerc, representative of the European Commission which financed the contract at 80% via the FEDER Interreg-Caribbean fund, Paul Koole, CEO of Koole Contractors in responsible for the collection and treatment of wrecks and Christophe Lieb, director of prevention and management of major risks who opened the ceremony with a speech honoring all parties. Over the 4 months of hard work since the launch of the site on May 31, 212 wrecks and 3230 tons of waste, with a 54% recovery, were collected by Koole Contractors and brought to the Grandes Cayes ecosite. The lagoon, described as common property for all Saint-Martin residents by the prefect Vincent Berton, is now cleaned and will soon be reopened to navigation, which was prohibited since Irma's passage, to the great joy of Louis Mussington who swam there and fished there as a child. Thanks to the intervention of Koole Contractors, the Marina Royale in Marigot has now been reduced by 61 tonnes of waste since last October.

Oyster Pond Marina is also clean, as well as other tourist sites on the island such as the approaches to Pinel, Sandy Ground and Nettle Bay, with the removal and dismantling of the Victoria wreck. With an initial collection target of 140 wrecks listed in 2018, 74 out of service boats were added along the way at the request of Louis Mussington, an additional operation financed by the Collectivity. In terms of total budget, the public contract for the cleaning of Saint-Martin waters, including the 3 amendments, will have cost €7.226.600. _VX

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