Oyster Pond before Irma
PHILIPSBURG--Owners of boats wrecked in Oyster Pond have until Sunday, April 11, to claim their property or else it will be legally forfeit, announced the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI on Thursday.
Government is now seeking to remove the shipwrecks in its side of Oyster Pond.
“Pursuant to Article nine of the National Ordinance for the disposal of ships and wrecks (AB 2015, no. 9), the owners of the remaining shipwrecks located in the Oyster Pond lagoon are hereby informed that there remains an opportunity to remove their vessel themselves.
“In accordance with Article nine subsection one, a period of 48 hours will be given starting at the date of today’s publication, April 9, 2021, to the owners of the remaining vessels to remove their vessels in an environmentally-friendly way. After this period, all owners forfeit legal rights to their vessels and the Minister of VROMI will initiate a procurement procedure to have all listed remaining shipwrecks removed,” said VROMI in a press release.
The shipwrecks in Oyster Pond have been placed on a so-called vessel list, which can be found on government’s website or at the Department of Maritime Affairs (by appointment).
“Each shipwreck has been numbered and its location has been global positioning system (GPS) tagged. Photos of each shipwreck can be viewed by clicking on the number associated with the shipwreck,” said VROMI.
Vessel owners are requested to contact the Department of Maritime Affairs to discuss their plan of approach. The Department can be reached via tel. 1-721-542-2507 or by sending an e-mail to
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Owners who have had their damaged boats removed in the meantime are also requested to contact the Department of Maritime Affairs to provide details about the removal.
