BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - HURRICANE DANNY’S expected path through the Leeward Islands had resulted in an influx of business for local entrepreneur Regiwell Francis, owner of St. Kitts Marine Works Ltd. (SKMWL).
Formed on Tuesday (Aug. 18) as a tropical depression, two days later Danny had peaked as a category three hurricane and a hurricane watch was subsequently issued by the National Hurricane Center.
Simultaneously, boat owners began taking their vessels to SKMWL for safe keeping.
“The hurricane has created a lot of excessive business for us, especially since the neighbouring islands’ facilities are overwhelmed. We have a lot of vessels coming in for storage. We have vessels coming from St. Martin, St. Bart’s, The Virgin Islands and, of course, St. Kitts and Nevis,” said Francis.
Francis explained that the local vessels that ferry passengers to and from St. Kitts were last to be hauled from the sea and first to be put back there to allow for minimum disruption in travel between the two islands.
“I am pleased to say that for this season we have come to an arrangement with the ferry operators to haul them last and put them back first no matter what to maintain travel, because it’s a critical service. In the past, if my facility was not here, they would have to go to St. Martin to be hauled. In this case, because St. Martin is completely full, they would have to go as far as Tortola to be hauled two days prior and put back four days after when the water conditions are permissive, and this could mean one week disruption in travel.”
This media house inquired of Francis’ plans and preparation for Hurricane Erika.
“Looking at the forecast, we expect a lot of rain around midday Thursday to late Friday, so the vessels that are out because of Danny are staying out until Erika passes. By weekend we should see the vessels back to normal service.”
Francis indicated that there are over 120 vessels currently on his compound.
SKMWL, which was established in 2005, is also a port of entry in St. Kitts with a customs administrator base on the compound. It employs just under 50 individuals and, according to Francis, within the last 18 months, following the introduction of SKMWL’s website, there has been a tremendous increase in business.
