By: Precious Mills
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Thursday 2nd July 2026)— While this week’s safe rescue of all 47 persons (passengers and crew altogether) aboard the MV Apple Syder has been applauded, a qualified Counselling Psychologist has pointed out why the presence of mental health professionals following such a traumatic incident is critically important also.
Following the maritime incident in the Basseterre Roadstead on Monday 29th June 2026, the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA)—via a statement—confirmed that among the emergency responders on the scene were “the Ministries of National Security, Health, and Social Development, including the counsellor who provided on-site support.”
In seeking to better understand the importance of such intervention as it relates to the counselling aspect, this reporter spoke exclusively with a qualified Counselling Psychologist with fourteen (14) years of experience, who was not involved in the emergency response but—when contacted by this media house—generally explained the critical role counsellors play following such traumatic events.
As understood from that mental health professional, trained counsellors provide Psychological First Aid, an internationally recognised approach often associated with large group disasters such as hurricanes or mass casualty incidents.
“It’s a preliminary review of the affected persons and to determine who needs additional counselling,” she explained.
She informed that the MV Apple Syder incident was a “traumatic event…an isolated traumatic event,” and that in such traumatic circumstances, authorities would typically assign a Psychological First Aid (PFA) team.
Additionally, she explained that part of an on-site intervention involves speaking with affected individuals about their immediate sense of safety and reassuring them that although they may have felt unsafe during the incident, they are now safe. The Counselling Psychologist noted that traumatic experiences can have lasting emotional effects on some people.
“Some people will be so traumatized they would not want to go in water again or go on a boat again,” she said.
Asked why immediate counselling is so important following incidents of this nature, she responded, “It’s really important because you don’t know how people will be affected.”
She added that “even though it can feel like an isolated event, it can be very triggering and traumatic and can become exacerbated [for some people],” explaining that early intervention allows counsellors to begin addressing those emotional reactions before they develop into long-term psychological challenges.
According to the Counselling Psychologist, the goal is to help survivors process what happened.
She explained that counselling “reduces how affected [persons are] from the incident for the rest of their lives,” enabling individuals to assess what occurred in putting such into context.
She also stressed that, despite the frightening nature of Monday’s incident, emergency systems functioned as intended.
“Even though it was very traumatic, all that was meant to be done [to keep them safe] were in place,” she said.
The Counselling Psychologist further observed that the incident likely carried additional emotional weight for many Kittitians and Nevisians because of the MV Christena disaster of August 1970.
“It was also very triggering for people because of the Christena disaster,” she said. “Even though this incident was very traumatic, the outcome was totally different. We’re just grateful [as a nation] that everybody was safe and were able to return home to their families.”
Following the incident, Apple Syder Management issued a public appeal asking passengers who travelled on the vessel to contact the company if they had not yet been reached.
“The Apple Syder Management Team is reaching out to connect with and hear from you,” the statement read. “While we have been able to successfully contact some passengers, we have not yet been able to reach everyone.”
Passengers were encouraged to contact the company’s dedicated contact line and share the message with fellow passengers. The contact number is 1-869-669-0707.
In an earlier statement, the company confirmed that the vessel encountered difficulties shortly after departing Basseterre on its scheduled trip to Nevis but noted that “all passengers and crew members were safely transferred to assisting vessels.”
Apple Syder also expressed gratitude to local captains, crews, maritime personnel and its own crew “for their professional and calm execution of our safety procedures,” while confirming that “a thorough review of the circumstances surrounding this event is being conducted.”
Meanwhile, SCASPA has advised that the relevant authorities are conducting a full investigation into the cause of the incident involving the MV Apple Syder in the Basseterre Roadstead.
The Authority stated that all 47 persons on board—41 passengers and six crew members—were safely accounted for through the coordinated efforts of the Coast Guard Unit of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force, the St. Kitts and Nevis Fire and Rescue Services, the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force, the Department of Maritime Affairs, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Ministries of National Security, Health and Social Development, including the counsellor who provided on-site support, the crew of the Makana ferry, tug operators and other responders.
SCASPA said it remains committed to supporting the ongoing investigation and will provide further updates as information becomes available.