After the passage of Irma, 259 damaged vessels were removed from the water by their owner, commercial operators and by Samagest. However, 147 ships and wrecks are still waiting to be refloated from the waters of Saint-Martin!
The sea management, the nautical brigade of the gendarmerie, the environment management and the community have identified all the wrecks and other waste (refrigerators, etc.) remaining in the water, that is 122 in the lagoon and 25 at Sandy Ground, Cul de Sac, Anse Marcel, Baie Orientale, Oyster Pond and Marigot. The community launched a public market to select a company for their removal and transport to the ecosite; candidates have until March 4 to respond (the initial deadline was February 15).
Upstream of the procedure, the authority for which it is responsible sent formal notices to the owners in order to order them to remove their property located on the public highway. Without response and act on their part, the State will proceed to forfeit the ownership of the ships, a compulsory measure to be able to withdraw the boats.
The estimated cost for this action is 400 euros, which will be financed by European funds as part of the 000-2014 territorial cooperation operational program.
This OP endowed with 10 million, aims to support three projects * including one relating to the lagoon of Simpson Bay. And it is in this area that funds were requested. However, to be so, the action must be shared with Sint Maarten. This is why the location of the wrecks was carried out in partnership with the authorities of the Dutch side, who will take care of their removal on their side. To do this, Sint Maarten obtained funds from the World Bank, which agreed to release them because the European Union was supporting the project on the French side. Then, the boats will have to be deconstructed, and the waste sorted and removed. This must be done by an approved company or classified installation competent in the matter. In Sint Maarten, they made the choice to sink certain boats offshore to create reefs, and therefore diving spots.
But in France, this is not allowed.
* Development of the Belle plaine watershed to reduce the risk of flooding, connection of the sewerage network to the treatment plant in Cole Bay.
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