PHILIPSBURG:--- On Monday, MP Claudius “Toontje” Buncamper of the USP faction in parliament sent a letter to Minister of Justice, the honorable Anna Richardson, stating that it has come to his attention that boats registered in Anguilla were picking up and dropping off passengers at the pier in the Simpson Bay lagoon Airport ferry dock. The passengers are taken to Anguilla for stays at hotels and or rented properties. Under normal circumstances, the MP said, he would have no problem with this practice, but while this is allowed to go on, boats registered in St. Maarten and other boats are prohibited by the Anguillan authorities from taking passengers to Anguilla or on day trips to the uninhabited islands around Anguilla. The MP considers this to be a one-sided and unfair practice with country St. Maarten being at a disadvantage.
MP Buncamper questioned if the justice ministry has any knowledge of this practice and wonders if there are plans to rectify the situation. The MP also question who authorized or permitted the Anguillan boats to pick up and drop off passengers destined to Anguilla, at the pier of the Simpson Bay lagoon Airport ferry dock, while St. Maarten boats are not allowed to do the same. In his letter to the minister, the MP asked if such activities are taking place at other locations around the island, and how long this unfair practice is intended to continue. “Does country St. Maarten benefit from the revenues generated from these boat trips?”, MP Buncamper posed in his letter and enquired if the justice ministry had communicated or has been in contact with the Anguillan authorities regarding the ongoing practices.
“Has your ministry been informed of any St. Maarten boatowner(s), or any other boat owners, who may have been denied entry to Anguilla or to the uninhabited islands around Anguilla?” MP Buncamper suggested that contact be made with the Marine Industry to confirm if any such cases do exists. MP Buncamper also enquired into the role of the Coastguards in this particular matter, while he awaits the response from the minister of justice.
