SABA:--- On Saturday, May 29, a total of 12 members of Dutch Defense, stationed in Curaçao, will be arriving on Saba via St. Eustatius by boat for the annual HUREX hurricane training exercise. During their visit, they will help to clean Spring Bay.
On Saturday afternoon, the Defense group will assist Saba residents with the clean-up of Spring Bay as part of the community event Saba DOET. They will help to collect and carry up plastics and other items that have washed ashore in Spring Bay, and which will be carried up the steep hill of Kelbey’s Ridge by volunteers through a human chain.
Other activities of the Defense group while on the island will include the installation of communications equipment, carrying out a HUREX training exercise, meet with local disaster management authorities in preparation of the hurricane season, getting acquainted with the island, and hiking to the top of Mt. Scenery to conduct a terrain orientation.
The Navy ship Pelikaan will arrive and dock on Saba on Monday, May 31 to drop off rations for Dutch Defense personnel in case the men have to assist during this hurricane season and to let the crew experience docking into the Saba harbor. The Pelikaan goes to Statia afterward for the same event. The Pelikaan will be back on Wednesday morning, June 2 to pick up the group. The ship will stay outside the harbor and the pickup will be executed by the Fast Intervention boat (FRISC).
The entire Defense group has been vaccinated twice and has done a PCR test prior to their departure for Saba from Curaçao.
