This Hurricane Irma yacht wreck in Sandy Ground with its bow embedded in the side of a house will finally be removed. (Robert Luckock photo)
MARIGOT--The Collectivité announced Thursday that administrative hurdles have finally been cleared and removal of boat wrecks on the French side abandoned by owners since Hurricane Irma can now proceed.
The public contract launched by the Collectivité in 2021 and awarded to Dutch company Koole Contractors, is now operational.
Environmental agency Direction de l’Environment, Aménagement et de Logement (DEAL) published on Tuesday, March 29, the prefectural order on registration of a classified installation for the protection of the environment (Installation Classée pour la Protection de l’Environment (ICPE)) relating to this public market.
Koole had already been awarded the contract in 2019, but had not met all the legal obligations at that time, forcing the Collectivité to cancel the contract.
According to the Collectivité, 140 boat wrecks registered on a list from 2018 are to be removed. The processing area selected is located between Marina Port La Royale and Sandy Ground on a 1,500-square-metre plot (A407) of land.
The wrecks will be depolluted, dismantled and cut up on an adjacent 168 square metres installed for this purpose. Pollutants and other dangerous waste will be evacuated to the eco-landfill in Grandes Cayes to be treated and disposed of according to European standards. Parts that cannot be cleaned up will be sent to European depolluting specialists.
The Collectivité and the State avoided a very important automatic decommitment of European funds allocated to this market, a few hours before the ultimatum from Brussels concerning the European Territorial Cooperation Operational Programme POCTE.
Koole Contractors is now in a position to launch the operation and prepare the site. About 40 weeks will be necessary to remove the 140 wrecks listed in order to return the coastline and the lagoon to their former appearance.
The Collectivité and its operational teams welcome the outcome of this project, for which elected officials and territorial staff have worked tirelessly over the past months.
