Official launch of the public contract for the collection of hazardous waste, shipwrecks

May 30, 2022

MARIGOT: The collection of boat wrecks (BHU) officially started this Monday, May 30, 2022 with the removal of the first wreck and its transport to the Sandy Ground shipyard where it will be processed by the company KOOLE, the contract holder.

Some background information:

The effects of the passage of Hurricane IRMA in September 2017 are not only visible on land. This extraordinary phenomenon is also responsible for the destruction of hundreds of vessels. The census conducted less than a year after the passage of IRMA identified these hundreds of wrecks located all around the island of Saint-Martin (140). The Dutch and French sides have counted wrecks all along their coasts but also in very large numbers in the inner lagoon that separates our two countries.

The public market of OUT OF SERVICE VESSELS (OUS) has been the object of a particular attention of all the actors taking part in it. Without recalling that this market could have started as early as 2019, it remains that this delay for administrative considerations is now behind us.

After weeks of competitive bidding, analysis of offers and internal discussions, the Collectivité de Saint-Martin has chosen the Dutch company KOOLE. The mission of the contract holder is simple: to purge the lagoon and the coasts of all these wrecks which dirty our island.

The company KOOLE completed the work on the Dutch side on December 24, 2021.

The consequences of the quality of the work done are multiple:

The boaters and the professionals of navigation can circulate in full safety on the waters of Sint Maarten;

Tourists can also boost the economic activity linked to the exploitation of the lagoon and the sea;

Real estate operations can be conducted in the immediate vicinity of the cleaned land.

The French side will also benefit from all these advantages. In the meantime, 140 wrecks have to be recovered.

This work will be carried out in three stages:

84 wrecks or pieces of wrecks presenting an immediate danger;

41 wrecks presenting a risk of environmental pollution;

15 floating abandoned wrecks.

The first surveys show that these 140 wrecks are not the end of the story. Dozens of others, as well as waste on the beach or in the lagoon, have been added to this inventory. The Collectivité therefore wishes to negotiate with its partners, the Prefect of Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin and the European institutions, to obtain additional funding for a complete clean-up of the waters of Saint-Martin.

The current market is currently valued at €5,504,500, broken down as follows:

€4,231,705 from the ERDF;

€828,637 from the State credits;

€444,157 are the financial participation of the Collectivity of Saint-Martin.

These wrecks are considered as waste and will be treated as such. With the exception of products with a proven dangerousness such as asbestos, all other materials will be transferred to the Ecosite VERDE SXM in Grande Cayes.

Finally, it is necessary to specify that the KOOLE company is working to boost local employment by recruiting 5 workers who will be able to specialize in the field of recycling and driving specialized machinery.

The lessons learned from this project are multiple:

It is necessary to regulate nautical activity before a hurricane warning to avoid the waters of Sint Maarten and St. Martin becoming a wreck graveyard;

Cooperation in this area is crucial between our two territories. Exchanges will soon be conducted to harmonize the procedures for the exclusion of boats in case of hurricane alert;

The development of economic and tourist activities on the French side of the lagoon will benefit from a boost following this cleanup.