Some of the fishermen at a Central Committee meeting after they protested the draft motor vessel ordinance in December 2020. (File photo)
ST. EUSTATIUS--Government commissioners met with twenty to thirty boat owners, fishermen and harbour officials on Monday to discuss changes to be made to the draft motor vessel ordinance. This was a follow-up to the Central Committee meeting of January 28, during which it was agreed to open a dialogue with stakeholders.
The reason for this meeting, described by Government Commissioner Marnix van Rij as “very constructive,” was related to the draft “verordening lokale vaartuigen St. Eustatius 2021” drafted by civil servants of the public entity St. Eustatius and the Harbour Inspector and endorsed by the Executive Committee. However, before an ordinance can become law it needs to be approved by the Island Council.
Several questions were posed during the meeting, such as what the difference is between using a pleasure boat to transport 12 family members and friends, and taking the same number of paying customers on board. Over the years, many boat owners have transported passengers from Statia to neighbouring islands and back. The meeting resulted in the public entity having a closer look at the rules.
Also discussed were the lack of facilities in the harbour where the availability of water, electricity and fuel is concerned, and the lack of sanitary facilities. The government said it is looking into a quick fix for these issues.
Van Rij conveyed that heavy investments will be made in the harbour in the coming two to three years, made available by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The Central Committee, the Island Council and harbour stakeholders will be made aware of these future developments.
The system of harbour-generated income through payment for registration and other fees will also be modernised, it was said.
The meeting with boat owners resulted in the draft motor vessel ordinance being sent back to the drawing board. The Central Committee will be briefed about the outcome of the meeting.
“We will also look into whether we can change items in the draft ordinance in such a way that we are still compliant with the higher law, but also so that we are meeting a couple of concerns as expressed by owners of pleasure vessels,” Van Rij said.
A future meeting between the government, boat owners and harbour stakeholders is to take place before a new proposal is brought before the Central Committee. Van Rij said he is “hopeful” that the future proposal will have more support from all stakeholders than the draft ordinance currently on the table.
“All for 1” interim president Charles Woodley, who is the spokesperson for the fishermen and boat owners, said the fishermen made it known during the meeting that they would not throw away their cultural heritage and do things according to someone else’s way of life. “Government cannot do away with how we do certain things here on the island.”
Woodley said Van Rij understood this and said he would like to have a dialogue with a smaller group of persons to come up with a solution. “Until that happens the ordinance will be on hold.” Woodley said.
The fishermen and boat owners held a protest against the draft ordinance in December 2020.
