Every week, a fresh batch of containers rolls into Statia’s harbor. Most of them stay forever on the island: they transform into garages, sheds, granny flats, or storage units. A lively trade in these steel boxes thrives, with prices soaring for moves that rarely exceed five kilometers.

Then there are the rental containers. They come perched on a trailer that you’re allowed to keep for two weeks, after which both container and trailer should return to the harbor. At least, that’s the plan. More often than not, the trailers are so wobbly that they collapse halfway, with all the consequences you can imagine.

Since most containers are second-hand, they arrive on the island in the oddest shapes and colors. That’s what keeps Statia’s architecture lively: today a bright pink garage, tomorrow a canary-yellow granny flat, and the day after, a light-blue slaughterhouse. Sometimes it feels like the containers are jostling for position, all trying to claim the best view.