“The Unspoiled Queen”
ST. EUSTATIUS--The public entity St. Eustatius has arranged passenger transport from Statia to Saba on Friday, December 4, so that Statia residents can attend the upcoming weekend’s Saba Day celebrations.
Many residents of Statia have reached out to the public entity requesting the possibility to travel to sister island Saba. However, due to the unavailability of boats licensed for passenger transport, the public entity has reached out to several qualified vessels to make it possible to arrange a boat trip to Saba.
The Big B is scheduled to sail passengers to Saba. Departure from Statia to Saba is 1:00pm Friday, December 4. The boat will return from Saba to Statia at 10:00am Sunday, December 6.
Persons interested in traveling onboard the Big B to Saba may do so by booking reservations through the Public Health Department on Cottage Road. Reservations are possible as of today, Wednesday, December 2, and Thursday, December 3, between 8:00am and 3:00pm. The Public Health Department can be reached at tel. 318-2891.
Passengers are requested to walk with a valid passport for booking and confirmation purposes. Payments are required immediately after a reservation has been made.
Unlicensed boats are not permitted to transport passengers. The vessels in Statia are registered as pleasure boats (“pleziervaartuigen”) according to the BES Navigation Law (“Scheepvaartwet BES”).
Article 2(d) of the Navigation Law says that pleasure boats do not fall under its rules if these do not transport passengers. If they do transport passengers, they need to fulfil the safety requirements established in the law and be registered according to the regulation for small vessels.
