FALCÓN, WILLEMSTAD - Despite the fact that the maritime border between Venezuela and Curaçao was opened on Monday, April 3, the floating trade of La Vela, in the state of Falcón, could not start as planned to bring fruits, vegetables, and fish to the island because the seafarers have not completed the documentation required by the Curacao government.
The sailors say that “they are doing their utmost” because it is not easy to start over when everything is lost. Johan Hernández, a sailor from La Vela, said that they need to contract an insurance policy for each member of the vessels, and Curaçao requires that it be an insurance policy of more than $15,000.
Although some took out a policy with a Venezuelan company, the island's authorities did not accept it. Now they are studying the offers on the market to choose the one that best suits their pocket. “Most of them have no way to pay for this policy and that is what we are trying to solve,” he said.
It was learned that the sailors obtained a policy of 20,000 dollars (personal accidents) and 10,000 dollars for COVID cases, the amount to be paid is 253.40 dollars and it is valid for one year. It is an insurance for international work permits (does not include tourists); however, most of the seafarers do not have the money to pay for it and are gathering with family, friends and sales of some things to be able to access this system.
There are hopes
For Eli Quiñones, president of the "Barquitos de Venezuela" Foundation, there is hope that the trips will begin to take place very soon (it could be after Easter), but a lot of progress has been made since they gave the information that they were going to open the borders.
He said that there are already four vessels ready for the floating market and that their owners are making investments to be able to supply them with the first load. He assured that they have received support from the Falcón government, which even enabled a bus to take sailors who did not have passports to Caracas. In the capital of Venezuela, their passports were taken out in one day and they were able to return with their documentation.
For now, the only delay is the insurance policy that Curaçao requires and that they must comply with to enter the floating market. As for maritime security, he reported that all payments are being managed in international transfers to avoid robberies on the high seas and end up exposing the lives of the crew of the vessels.
Special reporting by Irene Revilla for Crónicas del Caribe