The Blowing Point Harbour is still occupied by a number of Anguillian ferryboats lying idle in the inshore waters with their owners, captains and crews out of work since March 2020. That date was when the island’s then Government, the Anguilla United Front, closed the ports to avoid the entry and spread of the COVID-19 virus by infected persons.
While that action kept Anguilla and its people safe, the economy and hospitality workers, like the ferryboat operators, suffered much from the closure of the hotels and the ports of entry. The first ferryboats to travel to Dutch St. Maarten, however, were those occasionally chartered by tourists wishing to travel, in very small numbers, between Anguilla and the Dutch territory. Since then, day trippers, who are fully vaccinated, up to Sunday, December 5, have been permitted to enter Anguilla’s territorial waters on yachts and other pleasure boats.
The Anguillian ferryboat owners, desirous of operating between Blowing Point and Marigot, have been looking on with much perplexity, waiting the time when they would be permitted to travel to the French side. The port there is still not open, and the Anguilla Government and the Health Team are taking all precautions against importing the COVID-19 virus.
At the Government’s Press Conference, on Monday, December 6, Anguilla’s Premier and Minister of Health, Dr. Lorenzo Webster, gave the latest information regarding travel between Anguilla and French St. Martin.
“At the French side the port is still under construction and sometime in January they are hoping to have it ready,” he told the media. “The Governor has reached out to the Prefect on the French side to get permission for the ferries. But remember, now that we are out of the European Union it takes a little more of that international negotiation. So we are waiting word from the Prefect that it is okay for the ferry service to start. The Governor’s Office has been in contact with the Prefect’s Office on multiple occasions.”
The Premier continued: “Also, on the Dutch side, the protocols are there, since they were signed by the Governor, on the 29th of November but, again, Her Excellency the Governor would like to get a formal acceptance from the Dutch side also that the [regular ferryboat travel there] is acceptable.
“Certainly, as I said, the protocols are in place and I know that some people have used them. As the Permanent Secretary, [Mr. Foster Rogers], has said, vaccinated travellers can stay out up to one night and then return to Anguilla; but have to be tested on the fourth day. They would also have to be in quarantine, and this is a way to make sure that it is not necessary for other steps in the protocols.”
Mr. Rogers stressed that although permission was being granted for a day trip or for a night, persons were still required to adhere to proper responsibility and proper protocols. He advised persons to do their social distancing when travelling; to wear their masks; and to protect themselves.
He advised: “This is because, at the end of the day, when you go to St. Maarten, St. Barths or St Thomas, you are coming back to a household, or a family and friends, so you have to be very responsible how you travel; and, certainly, don’t go to places where you do not have to go.”
Premier Webster took the opportunity to thank the Health Team “for two years of dedicated and continuous service.”
