Eight Statia volunteers complete rescue-vessel training

Eight volunteers in St Eustatius completed six days of training to prepare them to serve on the island’s search-and-rescue vessel, Nora, according to the Saba Statia Search and Rescue Foundation. The Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution, KNRM, conducted the training, which the foundation organised over two three-day sessions.

The foundation said the sessions covered safe operation of the vessel, its equipment and procedures for maritime rescue operations. It is working towards having Nora fully operational with a trained volunteer crew in the first quarter of 2027, following an advanced search-and-rescue course scheduled for January.

Andre Bennett, Crisis Manager for the Government of St Eustatius, and Randy Paskel, Head of the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard Support Station in St Maarten, selected the volunteers, the foundation said. The group includes community members and civil servants.

The foundation also presented a search-and-rescue truck donated by Statia’s Crisis Management Organisation. Nora was received in 2025, according to the foundation.