business@tribunemedia.net
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
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$52m Bahamas boost from single cruise line By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A 156 percent increase in Nassau calls by just one cruise line has the potential to generate a $52m-plus boost for the Bahamian economy in 2022, Nassau Cruise Port’s top executive revealed yesterday Michael Maura told Tribune Business that Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) plans to expand its Nassau calls by from 45 in 2019 to 115 in 2022 - an increase of 70 - will bring an additional 350,000 passengers to the Bahamian capital based on all vessels carrying 5,000 persons. Using Ministry of Tourism data suggesting that cruise
• MSC to bring 350k extra passengers on 156% call rise • Port chief eyes ‘huge impact’ in 2022 as RCCL expands • Winning bidders for new retail spaces unveiled today MICHAEL MAURA passengers spend $100 per person in Nassau, he said MSC’s extra arrivals alone would generate a $35m increase in visitor spending injected into the local economy for the
benefit of businesses/employees that rely on the sector for their livelihoods. And, should Nassau Cruise Port succeed in increasing per capita cruise passenger spending
by an extra $50 per head via its $250m Prince George Wharf transformation, Mr Maura added that the total outlay
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COVID measures ‘can’t last forever’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
ROMAULD FERREIRA
Stronger shipping waste regulations ‘ready to go’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE outgoing environment minister says regulations to strengthen ship waste disposal procedures are “ready to go” as the Government awaits a report on the recent invasive beetle controversy. Romauld Ferreira, speaking to Tribune Business just before the general election, said he had drafted the regulations himself. He added, though, that zoology specialists were still trying to determine precisely what type of beetle species was offloaded, treated and burnt in Freeport in late July. “We’re still awaiting the entomologist. They weren’t able to find a live specimen to make a conclusion as to what beetle species it is,” Mr Ferreira explained.
“The safety protocols they followed, the treated the wood and burnt it, with a view to destroying what was there. They weren’t able to find a live organism, and are trying to find forensic evidence from whatever burrow they were making. That process is still in train.” The Government had previously said “an interagency committee” featuring the Department of Public Prosecutions, Bahamas Customs, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Department of Environmental Health Services, the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Department of Forestry, had been formed to investigate the offloading of the beetleinfested waste wood by the
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Bahamian insurers under rating review By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A RATING agency’s decision to place two Bahamian insurance companies under review due to a $90.5m acquisition by its parent group was yesterday said to be routine and of no concern. A. M. Best, the insurance credit rating agency, said the ratings of Atlantic Medical Insurance (Bahamas) and Security and General Insurance Company - as well as all of Coralisle Group’s other subsidiaries - were under assessment due to the parent’s purchase
of Barbados-based Massy United Insurance Ltd. However, a well-placed source, speaking on condition of anonymity, described A. M. Best’s action as much ado about nothing. “That’s perfectly standard,” they explained. “Whenever there is a merger or acquisition, they place you under review so they can get an idea of whether it strengthens or impacts the rating. “They’re rated ‘A’, which is the highest. Massy is ‘a-’. There is nothing unusual about this at all. They’ll come back and say because there’s no territorial overlap
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THE Bahamas “cannot continue to live under restrictive COVID19 measures” if it wants its tourism industry and wider economy to fully rebound from the pandemic, a businessman said yesterday. Ben Albury, Bahamas Bus and Truck’s general manager, told Tribune Business that COVID-19 was “something we have to learn to live with” despite the overwhelming pressures on the healthcare system given that it shows no signs of fading away.
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CAREY LEONARD
Freeport faces ‘disaster’ if 2016 Act not repealed • Ex-GBPA attorney warns it will ‘kill investment’ if stays • ‘Serious deficiency’ that not replaced by Minnis Gov’t • But tax breaks ‘handed on silver platter’ to Hutchison By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Arguing that tourism will struggle to maintain its momentum amid curfews and emergency orders, he encouraged the incoming administration to review the health travel visa and PCR testing requirements that are impeding inter-island travel in The Bahamas. Speaking to this newspaper before last night’s election results were unveiled, Mr Albury said: “COVID19 is here and something we have to learn to live with. Our healthcare system has been neglected for too long, and some investment needs to be made there.
FREEPORT’S 2016 investment legislation is “an absolute disaster” that must be repealed if small and mediumsized businesses are to invest in the city, a prominent attorney warned yesterday. Carey Leonard, the former Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) inhouse counsel, told Tribune Business prior to confirmation of last night’s general election results that the incoming administration will “absolutely kill any investment” if it seeks to revive the Grand Bahama (Port Area) Investment Incentives Act 2016. Chester Cooper, the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) deputy leader, has already pledged to revitalise the Act, but Mr Leonard said the effect
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