BASSETERRE St. Kitts – AFTER meeting officials from the St. Kitts-Nevis Coast Guard and a late change of mind, the Sea Hustler was able to make its final Christmas trip to St. Maarten on Thursday night (Dec. 19).
Information reaching SKNVibes states that a meeting between officials from the Coast Guard and the captain of the vessel was held to iron out allegations and to arrive at an amicable solution.
Captain of the Sea Hustler, Winston Skeete had earlier called off the trip because of alleged harassment meted out to him by members of the Coast Guard.
He told this media house that Thursday night should have been his last planned Christmas trip to St. Maarten, but because of the harassment he had intended to refund the monies paid by the 150-plus persons who were to travel with him.
“Well, I will be giving them back their money to avoid confusion and all of that. I am not even looking at it like I’m losing money…I will lose passengers. I’m in trouble and if you can’t stand up for something then you will go down for nothing.”
Skeete claimed that members of the Coast Guard had harassed him and the passengers earlier on Thursday when they were returning from a shopping trip in St. Maarten, and it had caused the disgruntled passengers to make some unsavory remarks that could affect his business.
“The thing is the persons that went on the boat said that they would no longer make such trips to St. Maarten with me. They said, ‘We are not going back on with you, we not coming back!’” Skeete explained.
“I know that it is part of their mandate to carry out checks on vessels arriving in the Federation, but why me alone?”
Skeete claimed his vessel is the only one making such trips to the neighbouring island that is being harassed by members of the local Coast Guard.
However, speaking with his secretary yesterday, she told SKNVibes that captain Skeete made the trip after a meeting with the Coast Guard.
“A meeting was convened between himself and the Coast Guard authorities. It was an extended meeting; it lasted over two hours. And from information gathered from the captain, the Coast Guard authorities said that the only agents they would receive correspondences when local vessels are going on international voyages is us,” she explained.
“The Coast Guard authorities have on record information stating when the Sea Hustler is both traveling to St Maarten and coming from St Maarten. Therefore, we should not be targeted because they have information on record to state that when we go to St Maarten and when we are coming back from St Maarten, as opposed to the other ferries who don’t provide them with that information,” she added.
To this end, she criticised the Coast Guard authorities for the way they are handling the Sea Hustler, noting that the harassment usually takes place during November when they are making their return trip to the Federation with passengers.
“We go throughout the year and no kinda interception was done. It was from when we started in the last week of November to current that every voyage that we make they come and search the vessel.”
She claimed that although it is mandatory for the Coast Guard to make checks on outgoing and incoming vessels, the Sea Hustler is the only one that is being targeted.
“By law it is mandatory that you make these checks. We found it to be a target because other vessels are going and you don’t find the Coast Guard intercepting them. They are only targeting us because there is a vessel that breaks down on a regular basis and on Sunday it returned to the Federation with us, but the Coast Guard did nothing with them and they were coming from St Maarten.” The secretary said.
She explained that it is “mandatory for any ship, whether fishing vessel, yacht, freighter or passenger vessels” to provide relevant documents or notify Coast Guard officials that they would be travelling in international waters.
