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Monday, July 20, 2026
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Regulator: Court ‘failed to grapple’ with foreign insurer branch designation BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net INSURANCE regulators have moved swiftly to overturn Orry J Sands & Company’s recent legal success by arguing the Supreme Court “failed to grapple” with whether an agent/broker has standing to pursue a claim in its name on behalf of underwriters they represent. The Insurance Commission of The Bahamas, in July 13, 2026, legal filings obtained by Tribune Business, asserted in its draft appeal motion that there is no law or procedure that allows a Bahamian insurance agent/broker to initiate legal action in their own name, and without the permission of the insurer they act for when, in effect, they are seeking redress on the latter’s behalf. Justice Simone Fitzcharles, in a June 30, 2026, verdict rejected the regulator’s bid to have Orry J Sands & Company’s bid for declaratory relief, and confirmation that it represented Sagicor’s Bahamas-based general insurance business as a standalone agent, rather than as a “branch” of the pan-Caribbean financial services giant, struck-out and dismissed
for lack of standing and having no chance of succeeding. Orry J Sands ultimately wants the Supreme Court to order that the Insurance Commission alter Sagicor’s September 2, 2016, registration certificate and remove the designation of conducting business “as a branch of a foreign company” in favour of an agency arrangement. However, the Insurance Commission, asserting that the “branch” designation has no impact on either Orry J Sands’ or Sagicor’s “legal of financial position”, is arguing in its draft appeal motion that the Supreme Court verdict failed to account for the fact the pan-Caribbean giant has ceased writing business in The Bahamas, has wounddown its portfolio and exited the jurisdiction. The regulator, in its bid to both appeal the Supreme Court decision and “stay” its enforcement, given that it sets a potential legal “precedent” for who can challenge the Insurance Commission and under what circumstances, argued that Justice Fitzcharles had “erred” in finding that Orry J Sands was able to “pursue
OVERTURN - See Page B6
Wreck removal failure causing ‘real nuisance’ BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A FORMER senior Port Department official has branded the failure to remove multiple wrecks littering Bahamian waters “in a timely manner” as a major maritime safety hazard and “real nuisance and environmental concern”. Brent Williamson, ex-assistant Port controller, and a 40-year international maritime consultant who has worked for both the Ministry of Transport and as a lecturer at LJM Maritime Academy, said wrecked vessels have often “remained
in place for years” - stretching from Potter’s Cay to the Exumas - with little to no regulatory enforcement or salvaging efforts. He unveiled his concerns in a report commissioned over the ongoing legal battle surrounding the $200m Rosewood Exuma development on Big Sampson Cay. Mr Williamson, who was hired by Callenders & Company, attorneys for Turtlegrass Resort & Island Club, the project’s chief opponent, detailed numerous maritime safety issues that he asserts were neglected in both the
LANDING - See Page B8
Fatal crash raises ‘urgency to break down the barriers’ BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net INDEPENDENCE Day’s fatal Andros plan crash has reinforced “the urgency of breaking down the barriers and walls” in the aviation industry, a senior executive is urging, with the planned Bahamas Aviation Safety Committee very much “needed”. Dr Anthony Hamilton, president of the Bahamas Association of Air Transport Operators, told Tribune Business that while no details on the
DR ANTHONY HAMILTON Committee’s membership, formal role and responsibilities were discussed at last week’s meeting between Jobeth Coleby-Davis,
ACCIDENT - See Page B7
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Cable: Dismiss ‘meritless’ piracy lawsuit from PBS BY NEIL HARTNELL TRIBUNE Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net CABLE Bahamas is urging the south Florida federal court to dismiss a top US public service broadcaster’s “meritless” piracy claim on multiple grounds - including that it has failed to prove copyright ownership in almost 79 percent of the alleged violations cited. The BISX-listed communications provider, in July 17, 2026, court filings argued that Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and its fellow non-profit, WGBH Educational Foundation, lack the necessary legal standing to pursue their lawsuit because they own the rights to just 706 of the 3,308 programs they claim it broadcast to Bahamian subscribers without permission. And Cable Bahamas also made good on its previous threat to demand the PBS action be struck out on jurisdictional grounds, arguing that it has “no contact whatsoever” with Florida and thus is not within reach of that state’s local or federal courts. Instead, it argued that it “is fairer and more convenient to litigate”
US public broadcaster fails to prove ownership in 79% of claimed violations BISX-listed provider: ‘Fairer and more convenient’ to battle in The Bahamas But halts broadcasts of disputed PBS programming in ‘good faith gesture’ the dispute in The Bahamas, and pledged its willingness to battle PBS’ claims in the Supreme Court.
CABLE BAHAMAS HQ
FRANKLYN BUTLER Franklyn Butler, Cable Bahamas president and chief executive, in an affidavit filed with the south Florida federal court, asserted that at no time during his nine years in the post has the BISX-listed provider or any of its affiliates “captured and transmitted” PBS programming from Florida. He affirmed that PBS content - which includes the likes of Sesame Street and Wild Kratts from PBS Kids, plus adult content such as Frontline and Antiques Roadshows - is instead being sourced from Canada-based Gulfcom Inc, with which Cable Bahamas has the necessary commercial and licensing agreements to enable such programming to be rebroadcast in this nation. Mr Butler also revealed that, without admitting liability, Cable Bahamas in “a good faith gesture” has voluntarily halted broadcasts of the disputed PBS programming in The Bahamas until the courtroom fight is resolved. He also denied that the company’s fully-owned
TRANSMIT - See Page B6