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halts Cruise port chief rejects Trump Bahamian mail ‘tough pill for downtown’ deliveries to US By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
NASSAU Cruise Port’s top executive yesterday asserted “we win on an increasing basis” from Royal Caribbean’s Paradise Island Beach Club despite fears it will be “a tough pill for downtown to swallow”. Michael Maura, the Prince George Wharf operator’s chief executive and director, told Tribune Business that critics of the cruise line’s private destination are missing the “part of the deal” that requires it to match the number of passengers going to Paradise Island with an equal increase in the volume that will visit other parts of New Providence. Pointing out that Royal Caribbean’s annual Nassau passenger volumes are due to increase from 1.8m to 4m over the next two years, based on confirmed calls and berth bookings, he added that Nassau Cruise Port will “be bumping our head on the ceiling” of seven million total visitors next year. Mr Maura, voicing optimism that this benchmark
MICHAEL MAURA SHIPS AT NASSAU CRUISE PORT
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Marinas suffering ‘dismal’ winter season bookings By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net MANY Bahamian marinas are reporting “dismal” reservations for the upcoming winter boating season, their Association president warned yesterday, asserting that the booking pace is “worse than PETER MAURY last year”. Peter Maury, the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president, told Tribune Business that he and the industry body decided against travelling to the Monaco Boat Show this year as the costs involved were simply not worth it given the “beating up” that this nation took in 2024 over increased fees and regulatory bureaucracy. And he asserted that further confusion and uncertainty over reforms introduced with the 2025-2026 Budget, such as the new fishing permit and moorings fees, is continuing to cost the industry vital business as he lamented: “We’re going backwards compared to where we were four years ago.” Explaining why he decided against travel to the French Riviera, and an opportunity to promote this nation to boat owners, captains and yacht brokers/ charterers in the Mediterranean and Europe, Mr Maury told this newspaper: “Last year we got beat u. People were very disappointed in The Bahamas. “I still have no good news to tell anybody. I said: ‘What’s the point of wasting
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volumes will ensure there is enough business for all - Bay Street merchants, restaurants, tour operators, excursion providers, straw vendors and others who make their livelihoods from the sector, creating
opportunities for “hundreds of Bahamians to get into the entrepreneurial game”. The Nassau Cruise Port chief spoke out after Tribune Business sources said some Bay Street and downtown Nassau merchants are already voicing concerns about decreased sales and reduced business because fewer passengers are venturing beyond the cruise port’s gate. Christopher Sands, a real estate agent with Morley Realty, told this newspaper that with the opening of Royal Caribbean’s Paradise Island destination some two months away - and
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By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net
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MAIL sent by Bahamians to the US has been halted because the Post Office’s “partner airline” is refusing to accept any outbound deliveries due to the Trump administration’s imposition of a 15 percent tariff. The Ministry of Energy and Transport, in a statement issued last night, explained what has driven the halt in US mail deliveries that has caused frustration, inconvenience and uncertainty for both Bahamians and their relatives in the US. It added that the airline’s acceptance refusal came after Donald Trump, the US president, signed a late August executive order eliminating the tariff exemption for imported parcels and mail worth $800 or less. Kevin Glinton told Tribune Business he visited the General Post Office last Thursday to mail a letter to a relative in the US, only to be informed that outgoing mail to the US has been
t #MBNFT 64 QSFTJEFOUhT UBSJGG JNQPTJUJPO t 3FQPSU UP CF QSFQBSFE PO #BIBNBT hCBDLMPHh temporarily discontinued. He said a representative at the Post Office later advised him that US tariffs are the cause. Fred Mitchell, minister of foreign affairs, confirmed to Tribune Business prior to the ministry’s release that no mail is being sent to the US unless the 15 percent tariff is paid. It was not clarified whether the Bahamian government, the consumer or some other party would be responsible for paying the tariffs. Mr Glinton, meanwhile, said mail set to
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Insurer ‘surprised’ if Imelda claims $6-$7m By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN insurer yesterday said he would be “totally surprised” if Tropical Storm Imelda claims exceeded $6m-$7m in value, and added: “We dodged a bullet but some of our citizens didn’t.” Anton Saunders, RoyalStar Assurance’s managing director, told Tribune Business that while the recent storm was “a minor event” for the insurance
industry it had impacted lowlying areas of New Providence and elsewhere that have always been prone to flooding. “I think it was an event for people in the low-lying areas, and we must never forget that some people were underwater; that floods and flooding continue to happen,” he said. “For the insurance industry, it is a minor event, and we don’t expect no large, significant claims or volumes. It’s the same areas that flooded before. “For the industry, it’s a minor event, but for the people
impacted it’s a major event. We’ve had a few claims. For us at RoyalStar, if we’re in the range of $1.5m to $2m of claims, we’d probably put the industry at $6-$7m. I’d be totally surprised if it gets that high, but we have to put a figure on it to our reinsurers. There’s always going to be surprises; someone hit more than others. “The unfortunate thing is that, while the insurance industry dodged a bullet, some of our citizens did not and continue to be plagued with
Minister cites CLICO’s fail to justify redundancy insurance By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister last night cited CLICO (Bahamas) collapse into insolvency in early 2009 as justification for why the Government will require all employers to pay some form of staff termination insurance. Pia Glover Rolle, minister of labour and the public service, told a Town Hall meeting on the proposed sweeping reforms to the Employment Act and Industrial Relations Act that the planned ‘bond’ or redundancy insurance is designed to provide a financial safety-net for workers taken by surprise when their employer suddenly closes or is placed into liquidation. She confirmed that the planned redundancy insurance would be an employer-funded scheme designed to offer financial protection for workers terminated due to their
employer’s insolvency or sudden business closures. “The proposed reform is set out to establish redundancy insurance financed PIA GLOVERthrough ROLLE employer contributions in support of employees being laid-off. Redundancy payments currently depend solely on employer resources, and in the case of insolvency or sudden closures, employees are sometimes left vulnerable and unable to access timely and financial support. Case in point, CLICO,” said Mrs Glover-Rolle. “This reform is expected to stabilise household incomes during
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flooding issues.” The Bahamas and wider Caribbean region have fared relatively well thus far during the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, Bermuda excepted, with most major storms either missing or lightly impacting the region. This bodes relatively well for Bahamian property and casualty insurers and, by extension, their business and homeowner customers, when it comes to premium pricing and availability for 2026. Bahamian
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