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THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2023
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Bahamas treasure hunter eyeing Nassau museum By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
• Allen Exploration: Would ‘offset’ Freeport challenges A BAHAMAS-BASED underwater explorer yesterday said it is “seriously • New licence regime as locals considering” opening a ‘not benefiting enough’ Nassau museum to showcase artifacts recovered from what • Minister challenges licence has been billed as “the most valuable shipwreck in the award ‘in dead of night’ Western Hemisphere”. David Concannon, Allen Exploration Group’s spokesperson, told Tribune Business via e-mailed reply to this newspaper’s questions that the company was eyeing a second site to “help offset the challenges” with its Grand Bahama museum caused by relatively low visitor numbers. Speaking as the House of Assembly passed legal reforms that will enable the Government to double its share of the proceeds from treasure salvaging in Bahamian waters, while halving that of groups such as Allen
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Exploration, Mr Concannon said he was unable to comment on the impact this will have because he had not seen the debate or amendments since he was travelling. “We have ongoing discussions with the Bahamas Government and an excellent relationship. I am sure this will continue,” he told this newspaper, while disclosing that efforts to recover artifacts from the Nuestra Senora de la Maravillas, the sunken Spanish treasure galleon, were progressing albeit slowly. “The recovery effort is slowly moving forward. It is painstaking but encouraging,” Mr Concannon revealed. “The same applies to the museum. Its location in the Lucaya Market (Port Lucaya Marketplace) is challenging. Any successful museum relies on foot traffic to draw visitors,
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Cruise port chief in ‘ride the wave’ call By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net NASSAU Cruise Port’s top executive yesterday urged downtown Nassau to “ride the wave” its $322.5m investment has created after a Cabinet minister voiced fears it could take “visitor traffic” away from other businesses.
• ‘Ridiculous’ to say it will take visitor traffic away Michael Maura, the Prince George Wharf operator’s chief executive, told Tribune Business it was “ridiculous” to suggest that its attractions
- which include a Junkanoo museum, amphitheatre, retail and food and beverage outlets - would suck all passengers away from other cruise-reliant businesses given that its project will bring substantially more visitors to the Bahamian capital. He urged tourism entrepreneurs to “leverage” the
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NAD returns to $322m debt terms compliance By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE NASSAU Development Company (NAD) no longer requires a government “commitment” or waiver from its lenders after returning to full compliance with conditions governing its outstanding $322.313m debt at end-September 2022. Vernice Walkine, NAD’s president and chief executive, yesterday confirmed to Tribune Business that the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) has remained in line with its financial covenants ever since and, as a result, no longer requires the
VERNICE WALKINE Government’s pledge of financial support to satisfy its bondholders. “That is correct. Everything fell away once we came into compliance at the end of the September
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Local banks pass anti-financial crime ‘shadow shopping’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE CENTRAL Bank yesterday hailed the results of a ‘mystery shopper’ style survey of Bahamian financial institutions which found “rigorous evidence” they were in full compliance with efforts to combat financial crime. The regulator, in a statement, said it had hired Evaluasi, a specialist consultancy in the anti-money laundering world, to pose as a potential client seeking to establish a bank or trust account with multiple Bahamas-based institutions. Describing this as a “shadow shopping”
JOHN ROLLE exercise, the Central Bank suggested this was the first time it had been done a the behest of a regulator to test its licensees’ Know Your Customer (KYC) or onboarding processes.
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‘Jobs, jobs and more jobs’: Staff sought for 700 posts • British Colonial requires up to 400 for re-open • And Royal Caribbean, Norman’s Cay need 300 • ‘Most Bahamians who want work can find it’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE BRITISH Colonial resort will hire up to 400 staff before it fully re-opens this December, the Government’s labour chief revealed yesterday, adding: “The majority of Bahamians who want a job can find one.” ROBERT Robert FarquFARQUHARSON harson, director of labour, told Tribune Business the “opportunities are there” as he confirmed that a further 300 job openings will be available at two job fairs later this week where his department is partnering with two major tourism investors. Besides Royal Caribbean, which is aiming to fill 200 vacancies at its Coco Cay ‘Perfect Day’ destination in the Berry Islands, he added that Exuma Resort Developers Ltd and the SixStar project on Norman’s Cay in the Exumas are also seeking 100 recruits. Both job fairs will be held at the Department of Labour’s Palmdale offices, with the latter taking place on Friday, June 19, between 10am and 4pm. The cruise giant’s will take place a day later on Saturday, May 20, between 9am and 3pm. Mr Farquharson, in social media postings aiming to “spread the word” about the two events, described the events as “jobs, jobs and more jobs”. “We have a lot of opportunities becoming available to Bahamians who are interested,” the labour director told this newspaper. “It’s a
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