Cargo vessels can come in

POINTE BLANCHE--The cruise section of Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities may not be operational until the weekend, as divers first have to ensure that access to two cruise piers is clear after the passing of Hurricane Earl, St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies CEO Mark Mingo told The Daily Herald.

Divers can only do the underwater inspection after the rough seas have subsided. More inclement weather and rough seas are expected to continue this week from Tropical Storm Fiona.

The cargo section should be able to accommodate incoming vessels today, Tuesday, despite some damage to the wall of Captain David Quay. Some 25 metres of the concrete quay wall did not sustain any damage. However, the brick section was battered by the powerful and high waves generated by the then-category 2 hurricane.

The damage to the cruise and cargo facilities was not as extensive as that caused by Hurricane Omar in October 2008. Mingo said, "Damage was limited due to improved designs, in particular for the cargo sections."

Several empty containers stacked in the cargo section were blown into Great Bay by the strong winds. One 40-foot container from the cargo area ended up across the Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise Pier entrance gate. Those in the bay will have to be "fished out" as soon as the waves subside.

As for the cruise section, Mingo said divers first had to assess the situation. "As far as we can see there is no problem with either of the cruise piers. All the fenders [the buffers between the pier and the ships] are all intact. However, we need a visual assessment from the divers first before there is an all-clear."

Three cruise ships – Norwegian Epic, Carnival Dream and Carnival Victory – had cancelled their calls for Sunday even before Hurricane Earl reached St. Maarten. Ships' agent S.E.L. Maduro and Sons Ltd also announced the cancellation of Oasis of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas for the week on Monday.

All of these cancellations came without the assessment of the cruise sections by the Harbour Group officials. They assessed the damage Monday afternoon after Earl was well on its way to the British Virgin Islands and Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) head Acting Lt. Governor Reynold Groeneveldt gave limited clearance for people with hurricane passes to assess damage, if any, to government-owned companies and private businesses.

Mingo said cruise lines had been informed about checks that needed to be carried out to ensure the approaches to the two piers were clear and safe. Ships' agents were also informed of the situation.

Mingo will give Groeneveldt a full report on the facilities today. That report will also include an assessment of Simpson Bay Lagoon, which is overseen by the Harbour Group via Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority Corporation (SLAC).

These cancellations and the need to assess the approach to the piers before cruise ships are allowed to come into port will set the island's cruise arrival number back by a several thousand passengers, just when the island was nearing the 1.5 million milestone.

St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies' arrival projection for year was 1,454,274 cruise passengers before the three cancellations. It said it would release the new projection after the passing of Hurricane Earl.

St. Maarten hosted its millionth passenger for the ninth consecutive year on Saturday, August 21. A New Yorker from Carnival Victory was randomly selected by harbour officials as the millionth passenger. He received an island tour, lunch for 14 family members and a one-week stay and round-trip tickets for St. Maarten for himself and three or four close relatives.