Pinel: The carriers have resumed their activity

The carriers of Pinel have resumed their activity on Sunday, December 11 by exceptionally providing the trip free of charge for the day after having reached an agreement with the prefecture and the COM. They were blocking the entrance of the pier of Cul de Sac since a week, and they refused to transport passengers to Pinel, as a protest against the arrival of a fifth carrier.

Following the hearing they requested on Thursday at the Territorial Council, they were received at the Hôtel de la Collectivité on Friday the 9^th by Guillaume Arnell, Pierre Brangé and Louis Fleming. “During this meeting which took place in very good conditions”, stated Guillaume Arnell on Monday, December 12, at a press briefing, “they recalled the historical activity initiated by the inhabitants of Cul de Sac”. According to them, Albert Fleming assured them that only four carriers will remain to carry passengers between the pier of Cul de Sac, and they could transfer their activity from father to son. But there is no written record of this agreement. The only documents related to the carriers are the exemption of the TGCA, the authorization of use of the pontoon, and the passenger fee.

At the conclusion of the meeting on Friday, Guillaume Arnell and Pierre Brangé have communicated by telephone on Saturday with the prefecture and the representatives of the association for the carriers of Pinel. The idea being the resumption of the economic activity, not only for the carriers, but also for the restaurant owners of the islet. It has been recorded that the different parties should meet again on Monday, December 12 with proposals from the Collectivité and the State.

This Monday morning, December 12, Guillaume Arnell, Pierre Brangé, as well as Thierry Malher, the Secretary-General of the prefecture, newly received the carriers at the Collectivité. The parties have discussed for less than an hour, “and without any tension”, as it was assured by the First Vice-President. They mentioned discussions between the different services and the issues on which the Prefect and the Collectivité “have agreed upon measures of relief.”

It was thus agreed, to ease the issues, that the authorization of the fifth carrier was suspended during the negotiations. Indeed, a committee composed of representatives of the Collectivité, the State and the association of carriers is in charge for the next three months, to reflect deeply on the overall problem of maritime transport. Once again, it is a matter to discover and define what falls within the competence of the Collectivité and the State. 

However, Guillaume Arnell insisted: “We cannot conduct a reflection without verifiable data. They should be able to demonstrate with figures that there is no room for a fifth carrier.” The carriers had the question reversed by requesting the authorities to prove to them that there was room for a fifth carrier.

The First Vice-President and Senator said to have made them understand on Friday that they were going too far. And if they pursued their action, they would perhaps encourage the relevant departments to be more scrupulous when it comes to monitoring their activity.

“We are not going to quarrel today what we accepted yesterday”, as it was stated before clarifying: “But today, the Collectivité has new competencies and it must be clear because now there are rules.”

Therefore, the idea to create this committee is to regulate and organize the maritime transport, much like the road transport that is being regulated.

“If we can remember something positive, it allows us to present the problems and to state the difficulties. The past of Saint Martin is less State, less regulations. This is changing gradually because the public interest is leading our action”, concluded Thierry Malher.