GREAT BAY--A major review of crisis management capacity across the Caribbean part of the Kingdom has placed St. Maarten within a wider effort to strengthen disaster preparedness, emergency staffing, regional logistics and large-scale maritime rescue, while recommending the creation of a dedicated emergency support point for the Windward Islands.
The 89-page study, “Crisismanagementcapaciteiten in het Caribisch deel van het Koninkrijk: Inventarisatie en Analyse,” was conducted by Crisisplan BV and authored by Prof. Dr. Arjen Boin and Drs. Werner Overdijk. Dated March 24, 2026, the report was commissioned by the Dutch Ministries of Justice and Security and the Interior and Kingdom Relations and formally submitted to the Dutch House of Representatives on October 5. It assesses crisis management capacity in St. Maarten, Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius.
The review examined whether available crisis management capacity would be sufficient under three risk scenarios for each island. Across the six islands, researchers identified vulnerabilities involving training and exercises, backup staffing within crisis organizations, information management, specialist expertise, medical capacity, critical dependencies, logistics, shelter and transport. The Dutch government said the findings show that both essential services and the organization of crisis management require further strengthening.
An important qualification applies when interpreting those findings for St. Maarten. The researchers did not publicly identify the detailed island profiles by name. This means weaknesses described for individual unnamed islands cannot automatically be attributed to St. Maarten. However, several recommendations and government measures in the report and accompanying response specifically name St. Maarten or directly cover the Windward Islands.
For St. Maarten, the Dutch government noted that resilience has already been strengthened following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, including rebuilding infrastructure and facilities in ways intended to make them more resistant to future natural disasters. Under the St. Maarten reconstruction program, work is also underway on a mechanism through which the country could insure itself against potential damage caused by natural disasters.
Additional resources were made available to St. Maarten at the end of 2025 for several crisis preparedness initiatives. These include the establishment of an Office of Disaster Management, development of a Tsunami Plan, and preparation of a Host Nation Support handbook designed to improve the coordination of international assistance when outside help is required following a major disaster.
The report also has implications for how St. Maarten coordinates with the Netherlands and the rest of the Kingdom during major emergencies. The Kingdom Council of Ministers agreed on May 29 that St. Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao can be invited into Dutch national crisis structures when urgent circumstances require joint decision-making among the Kingdom countries. Decisions concerning Kingdom affairs would subsequently be confirmed through the Kingdom Council of Ministers.
St. Maarten is also participating in the Caribbean Civil Protection Mechanism, a crisis cooperation structure launched in 2025 for all six islands. The governments of St. Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao contribute personnel to the mechanism, which manages activities including a regional exercise calendar and a pool of crisis professionals who can be deployed where needed.
Crisisplan recommends expanding that mechanism considerably. Proposed functions include shared planning capacity, expansion of the reserve pool of crisis professionals, a joint program for education, training and exercises, and logistical capacity to provide emergency assistance, including greater standardization of equipment that can be moved between islands.
The Dutch Ministries of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and Justice and Security have committed approximately €600,000 over the next three years toward further development of the Caribbean Civil Protection Mechanism. The ministries also intend to reach administrative agreements with the countries and public entities on its future structure and responsibilities.
One of the recommendations with the clearest direct relevance for St. Maarten is the establishment of two regional emergency support points, one for the Windward Islands and another for the Leeward Islands.
The proposed Windward support point would serve St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius and hold equipment that could be rapidly deployed during an emergency. Examples identified by the government include mobile refrigeration capacity, emergency generators and equipment for combating oil pollution. The Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security will work with the islands on a concrete proposal for how the support points should be established and what equipment they should contain.
Another major recommendation concerns Search and Rescue capacity at sea. Crisisplan recommends greater joint SAR capacity so that the islands can respond more effectively to large-scale maritime emergencies.
For St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius, operational coordination of Search and Rescue is currently handled by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Martinique, France. The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard also plays an active role, particularly within the territorial waters of the three islands.
The report recommends further strengthening this system, including making better use of private-sector and community resources during maritime emergencies. Cooperation agreements could be established with shipping companies and maritime service providers covering availability, compensation and coordination when additional vessels or equipment are required during an emergency.
Regional training is another area being expanded. Crisis managers from throughout the Kingdom have been meeting twice annually since 2022 during the Week of Crisis Management to exchange knowledge and participate in exercises. A major joint exercise, Caribbean Coast 3, is planned for 2027, while the crisis management handbook for the Caribbean part of the Kingdom and its accompanying e-learning material are also being updated.
St. Maarten is additionally involved in preparations for a Kingdom crisis plan dealing with military and hybrid threats. Led by the Dutch Ministry of Defence, the plan is expected to address areas including territorial defence, continuity of government, healthcare, public order, coordination, migration flows and communications. Completion is expected during 2027.
The overall findings reinforce the extent to which St. Maarten’s disaster preparedness cannot be viewed solely within its own borders. The report highlights the limited scale of the islands, dependence on imported goods and services and the close relationship between their emergency systems, meaning a major disruption on one island can create consequences elsewhere in the region.
The Dutch government said St. Maarten and the other Kingdom countries support continued cooperation to strengthen crisis management, resilience and the ability of islands to assist themselves and one another.
