Drinks wholesaler ILTT came out in support of the work of Sea Rescue St. Maarten today by donating a large supply of its brand Fiji water to the foundation. Sea Rescue had specifically requested the brand for its operations due to its bottle design, enabling to stock the water for rescue operations in rough waters and making it the household brand for the St. Maarten Sea Rescue Brigade for years. This was announced today by the St. Maarten Sea Rescue Foundation, explicitly stating its gratitude for the donation from the wholesaler.
Over the past forty years, the St. Maarten Sea Rescue Foundation saved hundreds of lives of seamen, passengers and tourists that navigated the islands territorial waters. A voluntary ten-person brigade is standby day and night in case ships find themselves in trouble in St. Maarten waters. In conjunction with its French side, Saban, Statian and Anguillan counterparts, the brigade is also often active beyond the confinements of country St. Maarten’s territorial waters.
Mr Roel Kokkelmans of ILTT: “We replied directly to Sea Rescue’s request. ILTT is glad to contribute, be it in a modest way compared to the sacrifices of the foundation’s volunteers day and night in case of emergency, to the foundation’s unique role in saving lives on St. Maarten.”
For the brigade, fresh water is a major expense on an annual basis. Both rescued victims in need of non-salty water as well as exercising rescue brigades in the heat of day are in need of permanently available water supply.
Fiji Waters has long been the preferred water stock on board of the two Sea Rescue vessels Chief and Dolphin. The square design makes the bottles easy to stably stack and store in the compact vessels, even more so when the brigade encounters rough seas. The Foundation is grateful for ILTT’s support as any penny counts for the small organization with limited means, but large operations.
Sea Rescue is a wholly independent, non- governmental not-for profit organization. For the four decades of its existence, it has fully relied on voluntary operations and third-party donations to be able to be operational 24/7, 365 days a year. Especially as the main Sea Rescue vessel Dolphin is going through a profound redevelopment, a large variety of in-kind donations is more than welcome, varying from light bulbs to motor service parts. Should you or your company be interested in supporting the Sea Rescue Foundation, please let the brigade know via info@searescue.sx.
