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Operation Starts To Relocate Beached Vessel Island Scout

VROMI Minister Patrice Gumbs and TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten overseeing the relocation of the vessel on Wednesday.

PHILIPSBURG--Authorities on Wednesday began the major operation to relocate beached vessel Island Scout from the waters near the site of the former Great Bay Beach Hotel, where it got stuck during the passing of tropical storm Ernesto.

The vessel is being moved to Port St Maarten and eventually out of St Maartens waters.

Government had issued a Ministerial Decree on Thursday last in which a 48-hour notice was issued to the owner of Island Scout Read more

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Port St. Maarten Forecasts Over 1.5 Million Cruise Tourists In 2025

Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten (right) with Michele Paige, CEO of Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association.

 PHILIPSBURG--Port St. Maarten Group (PSG) anticipates a significant increase in cruise tourism, projecting that over 1.5 million cruise passengers will visit the island in 2025 Read more

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Election Poll Estimates Pfp, Dp, Na To Retain A Majority Of Their Voters

Eugene Hoogstad

PHILIPSBURG--Some 83 per cent of those who voted for Party for Progress (PFP) in January said they will vote for the party again in the upcoming snap election, the highest percentage in the recent poll by independent researcher and consultant Eugene Hoogstad.

The Democratic Party (DP) is the second highest in the polls results at 71%, while National Alliance (NA) came in third at 68%.

Unified Resilient St Read more

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Grisha: Businesses Near Pjia That Fail To Remove Billboards Before Storms Will Be Liable For Damage

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten issued a firm caution on Wednesday to businesses that have wooden billboards near Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) and fail to remove them before a storm.

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Groundbreaking For New Marketplace Next Week, Says Grisha

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten, has announced that the groundbreaking for the new Marketplace will now be held here next week.

The ceremony was postponed due to the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto on Tuesday.

The storm, which packed winds of about 60 mph, destroyed the tarpaulin covered stalls the vendors were using while waiting to be moved to a pavillion that was being erected at the location of the old Government Administration Building.

My heart really goes out to all the vendors affected by Tropical Storm Ernesto Read more

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All Businesses Told To Close, Essential Services Can Open

PHILIPSBURG--In an effort to ensure the safety of the public and employees of businesses during the passing of Tropical Storm Ernesto, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten decided that all businesses, with the exception of essential services, had to close by 11:00pm Monday night to minimise movement on the public road.

Essential services that can remain open are emergency services; gas stations that service vehicles needed for essential services; pharmacies (concerning the sale of medicines/medical products); hotels and guesthouses, including stores and restaurants located in them; funeral parlours; the airport and the harbour, including the stores located in them.

Public transportation was allowed to operate until 1:00am Tuesday, August 13.

In a national address on Monday evening, Prime Minister Dr Luc Mercelina said the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) had met at midday Monday to assess the current situation and to review national preparations.

Schools are to remain closed on Tuesday Read more

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Grisha Grants Ezair Route Authorisation

PHILIPSBURG--The apparent stand-off between St. Maarten and Curaao over route authorisation for EZAir B.V. seems to have come to an amicable solution.

Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten has granted the Curaao airline, EZAir BV route authorisation to fly to St Read more

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Both Halves Of The Island To Establish Mou On Agriculture, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten The administrations of both halves of the island are committed to establishing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Agriculture, Fisheries, and Animal Husbandry that will facilitate synchronization of policies, and enhance relationships while facilitating partnerships.

This was agreed upon when Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT), Grisha Heyliger-Marten met last week with Vice President of the Collectivity of St Read more

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Heyliger-Marten Wants Nv Gebe To Introduce Special Tariff For Seniors

TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten

 PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten wa Read more

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Grisha Wants Gebe To Introduce Special Tariff For All Seniors

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten, wants GEBE to establish a special discounted electricity tariff for the islands senior citizens aged 60 and above.

Dubbed Tariff 60, the Minister has asked the utility company to review the current system in which some seniors benefit from reduced rates while others do not Read more

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Grisha Holds Talks With Edf On Net Metering

Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten (centre) accompanied by Pierre-Yves Gillot, Chef de Service des Iles du Nord (second left) and Otmar Read more

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Grisha Holds Talks With Edf On Net Metering

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten, recently held exploratory talks with lectricit de France (EDF), the utility company that provides electricity to the northern half of the island.

The discussions centered around net metering, the structure of EDF, current production demand/capacity for the North, interconnection standards, and the impact on feeding solar energy into the grid.

Other topics discussed included net metering rates and compensation structure for excess energy generation, inspection for system compliance, and the permit issuance process, said the minister.

EDF has implemented net metering in territories such as Guadeloupe and Martinique Read more

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Spirit Airlines To Explore Code-Sharing Opportunities, Enhance Connections

TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten with Spirit Airlines Senior Director of Network Planning Mathew Glover.

~ Water supply, Customs process concerns ~

PHILIPSBURG--Spirits were high when Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) Read more

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Grisha, Real Estate Brokers Discuss Regulating Sector

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten With so many real estate agents operating in St. Maarten, there is need to regulate this sector of the economy, and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten drove this point home when she met recently with a group of real estate brokers.

It was agreed that a Real Estate Policy would be put in place to regulate the Real Estate Industry based on the following criteria: all eligible real estate companies must have aphysical officein St Read more

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Grisha Advocates Return To Previous System Of GovernmentTo Reduce Political Instability

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten Electoral reform should not only address the topic of integrity and so-called ship-jumping; it should first and foremost focus on what appears to be the main cause of political instability on all islands of the former Netherlands Antilles since 10-10-10. This is the opinion expressed recently by Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten.

According to the minister, the main cause of political instability is the switch to a dualistic system of Government.

Before 10-10-10, with one or two exceptions, (coalition) Governments on the islands of the former Netherlands Antilles always lasted a full term of four years Read more

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Taxi Associations Present Proposal For Tariff Change To Teatt Minister

From left: Andrew Royer of the Dutch Taxi Association, TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten, Maya Friday of the Dutch St. Maarten Taxi Association and Glen Emers of Down Town Taxi Association.

~ Want ride sharing initiative permanently abolished ~

PHILIPSBURG--Five taxi associations operating on Dutch St. Maarten have proposed a change to the existing tariffs, according to them, due to the increased cost of living and inflation.

In a letter to Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten, the associations said the proposed amendments to the current tariffs are also to synchronise tariffs with the French-side Taxi Association which is presently in negotiations to increase their tariffs.

We met last week to discuss, among other things, their proposal to change the current tariffs for different districts, Heyliger-Marten said in a press release Read more

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From left: Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs, TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten, Chairperson of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams and Member of Parliament Viren Kotai.

 PHILIPSBURG--The decision on whether St Read more

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GovT Asks Pjiae To Pay Overdue Passenger Security Fees Enacted By Law Since 2019

GREAT BAY The Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport, and Telecommunication (TEATT), Grisha Heyliger-Marten, has requested the Princess Juliana International Airport operating company (PJIAE), to make overdue payments to government derived from the security fee of one dollar per passenger, established by law since 2019 as a critical financial support to enhance the Ministrys civil aviation activities.

Heyliger-Marten explained the importance of this fee when she said: The contributions from the security fee are vital for our civil aviation activities, which ensure the safety and security of our airport operations.

Besides, achieving Category 1 status is a top priority, and continued support from PJIAE, which will also benefit from it, is essential to realizing this goal.

According to the Minister, previous administrations were apparently preoccupied with introducing other levies that threatened to cripple the economy Read more

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Grisha Not In Favor Of Contract Renewal For Airport Ceo

GREAT BAY Under no circumstances should the contract of the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Princess Juliana International Airport operating company (PJIAE), Brian Mingo, be renewed when it expires in December. That is the position of Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten, as expressed in a letter dated July 4, 2024, to the Managing Director of the airport holding company (PJIAH), Perry Wilson.

The letter was an acknowledgement of a correspondence of June 20, 2024, from PJIAH giving detailed answers to questions the Minister had posed regarding the airport.

Further to your response, Minister Heyliger-Marten wrote, I would like to clarify my position regarding the upcoming transition in leadership Read more

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Grisha Floats Idea Of City Manager For Town With Ima

TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten (right) with members of the Indian Merchants Association last week.

 PHILIPSBURG--The possible introduction of a City Manager to develop strategies aimed at attracting not only residents and cruise visitors to Philipsburg, but also stop-over and stay-over guests was discussed recently.

A City Manager was one of the proposed strategies for improving the tourist product, which Grisha Heyliger-Marten, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT), discussed with an Indian Merchants Association (IMA) delegation at a meeting last week.

The Minister outlined the actions already taken to enhance the Marketplace and improve the product and visitor experience in town and other parts of the island, and plans for the beautification of St Read more

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Minister Of Teatt Floats Idea Of City Manager With Indian Merchants Association

GREAT BAY The possible introduction of a City Manager to develop strategies aimed at attracting not only residents and cruise visitors to Philipsburg but also stop-over or stay-over guests was discussed recently.

A City Manager was one of the proposed strategies for improving the tourist product, which Hon. Grisha Heyliger-Marten, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (TEATT), discussed with a delegation of the Indian Merchants Association (IMA) at a meeting last week.

The Minister outlined the actions already taken to enhance the Marketplace and improve the product and visitor experience in town and other parts of the island, and plans for the beautification of St Read more

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Air Canada Increases Flights To St. Maarten

GREAT BAY Air Canada has announced a new Montreal St. Maarten flight and a doubling of its existing twice weekly Toronto Pearson (YYZ), starting November 17, 2024.

Flight AC 1362, will leave Montreal (YUL) for St. Maarten at 10:15 am and arrive here at 3:55 pm, while the return flight AC1363 will depart St. Maarten at 4:55 pm to arrive Montreal at 8:55 pm. This new flight will use the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft with a seating capacity of 169, out of which 16 are business class.

This is good news for us, said Grisha Heyliger-Marten, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (TEATT), who welcomed the announcement as a positive sign for what can be expected in terms of stay-over passengers in the coming high season.

The expansion means that Air Canada will operate five (5) flights to the island, the new Montreal route (on Sunday) and the Toronto route, which has been expanded to four, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, as per Air Canadas 2024/2025 winter schedule.

In spite of the constraints regarding availability of aircraft, Air Canadas performance evaluation has led to identifying potential room for growth into SXM.

Although this is seasonal, we are going to do all within our power to ensure that the flights remain at the same levels beyond the winter season, Minister Heyliger-Marten said.

The post Air Canada Increases Flights to St Read more

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Grisha Steps In To Aid Winair Increase Flights To CuracaoAmid Jetair Bankruptcy Impact

GREAT BAY Hundreds of passengers who were bound for St. Maarten are currently stranded in Curaao, because of the unexpected bankruptcy of JetAir, which was to fly them to Princess Juliana International Airport.

There are also numerous travelers in St. Maarten eager to visit family and friends in Curaao who have been affected by the demise of JetAir.

Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten swung into immediate action upon receiving information from the CEO of WINAIR regarding a critical situation affecting air travel between St Read more

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Grisha Discusses Product Enhancement With Shta

TEATT Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten (fourth right), flanked by SHTA Executive Board members.

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication, Grisha Heyliger-Marten met with the Executive Board of St Read more

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