Business View Caribbean | November 2020

47 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN NOVEMBER 2020 The sole shareholder in the Port St. Maarten Group of Companies is the country of St. Maarten, represented by the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT). As a company, Port St. Maarten operates under four pillars: Cruise, Cargo, Yachting, and Real Estate. Lela Simmonds, Business Development & Marketing Manager for Port St. Maarten, reports, “In 2014, we received two million passengers, which was quite the milestone. In 2017, we were struck by hurricane Irma, which caused a drop in our passenger count to 1.2 million. We were still recovering up until 2020, where we received 1.63 million passengers in 2019 and were due to receive about 1.3 million passengers this year (2020). We also received a commitment of additional calls in the first quarter which would increase the originally projected amount, however this was impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic which prompted the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC’s) No Sail Order in March.” PORT ST . MAARTEN GROUP OF COMPANI ES The Cruise suspension severely impacted the Port, and the future planning of operations. As Simmonds explains, “We had begun working on our Strategic Plan prior to the pandemic, and this unforeseen global incident required us to reassess our planning and adjust accordingly. The new landscape presented new requirements and demands that we must factor into our planning for the future of Cruise and considerations to be taken for the safety of our guests and local population.” With the cruise sector not commercially sailing at the moment, cargo is helping to sustain the overall organization. The cargo port at Port St. Maarten’s Captain David Cargo Quay located at the Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise & Cargo Facility, operates as a landlord port. The cargo operations are performed by two stevedoring companies that provide terminal stevedoring, trucking, and other related cargo services, including stevedoring activities, heavy duty equipment, breakbulk, and trucking. Crane