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Bahamas’ boating loss is ‘USVI’s $100m gain’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas’ loss is threatening to become a $100m gain for the US Virgin Islands (USVI), the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president asserted yesterday, as the latest boat tracking data shows “a 40 percent decline in vessels” visiting this nation. Peter Maury told Tribune Business that information obtained from boating industry reports, coupled with disclosures by the Virgin Islands Professional Charter Association (VIPCA) and other groups, suggest a Caribbean rival
• Marinas chief cites ‘40% decline in vessels’ from AIS tracking • And Harbourside Marine boss reveals same ‘huge decrease’ • Fee fall-out worsens ‘shift’ caused by 14% charter tax rate is set to create 2,000-plus jobs and enjoy 15-25 percent yachting sector growth due - to a large extent - to owners and operators shunning The Bahamas over new and increased fees and regulations. Noting that this shift to other Caribbean
territories “builds on a 40 percent drop” in foreign yacht charters in The Bahamas, following the implementation of an effective 14 percent tax rate, he argued that “early data shows US Virgin Islands charters gaining 15–2 percent in bookings for the
PETER MAURY 2025-2026 winter season” as vessels divert away from this nation. “US Virgin Islands’ charter bookings are up 15–20 percent year-overyear for the 2026 first and second quarter, per
YachtCharterFleet and CharterWorld data, as operators reroute from The Bahamas,” Mr Maury wrote in a paper shared with Tribune Business. “Catamaran charters, popular for island-hopping, have seen a 15 percent year-over-year rise in the Caribbean overall, with US Virgin Islands capturing around 30 percent of Bahamas’ lost share due to berth availability and lower costs. Each diverted yacht generates $100,000–$300,000 in local spend - provisioning, fuel, excursions - potentially adding $50m to $80m to US Virgin Islands’ $500m to $600m annual yacht sector.”
The ABM president reiterated that a significant share of The Bahamas’ boating market has, or is in, the process of diverting away from this nation over the new and increased boating fees - anchorage fees and a separate fishing permit fee - that were introduced with the 2025-2026 Budget, plus the greater uncertainty and ‘red tape’ involved in obtaining these permits and clearing into the country. Other complaints centred on how the fees and regulatory changes were implemented, and the lack of warning and consultation with the boating industry.
RIVALS - See Page B4
Tourism ‘pacing ahead’ despite ‘reduced weeks’ for November By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
NASSAU CRUISE PORT
Bad weather costs Nassau 16,000 cruise ship tourists By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net NASSAU lost an estimated 16,000 visitors and four vessel calls on Saturday after strong winds prevented all but one ship from docking at the city’s $300m cruise port, it was confirmed last night. Michael Maura, Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive and director, told Tribune Business that “20 miles per hour-plus” winds blowing from the east north-east - rather than Nassau Harbour’s deteriorating break waters - were the primary reason why only one of five expected cruise calls made it into port that day. Downtown Nassau merchants, restaurants tour operators and other cruise-reliant tourism businesses thus missed out on significant anticipated revenue, as confirmed by Paolo Garzaroli, president of Graycliff Cigar Company, who said the resort and attraction operator had been “staffed for an onslaught” of visitors on Saturday only to receive “dribbles”. But Mr Maura, while acknowledging this is “not the first time” that high winds have prevented cruise ships from docking in Nassau, told this newspaper
that “one of the blessings of The Bahamas” is that its multiple destinations give the lines sufficient flexibility to adjust their schedules for bad weather. He explained that the relative proximity of cruise line private islands may have allowed the impacted ships to call at those destinations first, then return to Nassau later when the weather has eased, thus making up for the revenues and activity that may have been lost on Saturday. However, even though Nassau harbour’s decaying break waters were not the prime cause of Saturday’s cruise ship docking difficulties, Mr Maura said The Bahamas cannot afford to “kick the can down the road five years” on essential repairs that need to be made urgently to prevent disruption to the Arawak Cay-based Nassau Container Port and the country’s import dependent economy. He added that the “wave energy”, which would have surged through gaps in the break water at Paradise Island’s western end on Saturday, would have hit Arawak Cay’s eastern end and been deflected to further erode the sand forming the Western Esplanade and Junkanoo beaches.
WIND - See Page B2
THE Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president yesterday affirmed the 2026 winter season is “pacing ahead” of this year’s performance even as the industry’s line staff union disclosed that some employees were still working “reduced weeks” in November. Jackson Weech, also vice-president and general manager of operations for Atlantis, told Tribune Business that the upcoming Christmas and New Year period appears positive “straight across the board” while a “strong base” of group business bookings has placed next year’s first quarter on a “solid” footing. However, Darrin Woods, the Bahamas Hotel,
Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) president, disclosed that November had been “softer than usual” with some union members and resort workers still not restored to full working weeks despite Thanksgiving last week marking the traditional start of the winter tourism season. Describing this as “not overly concerning or alarming”, the union chief attributed the relative softness to the ongoing impact that the Trump tariffs and other economic uncertainties are having in the US - The Bahamas’ largest source market that generates around 90 percent of annual visitors. Acknowledging that these are factors outside The Bahamas’ control, Mr Wood said the union is focused on training and preparing its members
THE Opposition’s chairman yesterday blasted that “there’s no value for taxpayer money” in a $1.7m contract for air conditioning repairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Goodman’s Bay Corporate Centre offices as he challenged why any public funds were spent. Dr Duane Sands told Tribune Business he
questions the Public Procurement Board’s justification for awarding the contract without competitive bidding n the basis that the repairs were urgently needed, arguing that this is contradicted by its confirmation that the decision was “subject to external review” to ensure the price tag and scope of works matched. And he also queried why, as Tribune Business reported two weeks ago when it broke the story, the
DARRIN WOODS
JACKSON WEECH have been at least partially driven by the peak Easter holiday weekend this year falling in April whereas it occurred in March in 2024. All other months have experienced year-overyear declines, albeit by relatively modest numbers
ARRIVALS - See Page B2
US court approves Sarkis’ CCA deal By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
CSCEC Bahamas, in a statement confirmed that the US court had approved the “comprehensive agreement” with BML Properties, Mr Izmirlian’s corporate vehicle, to resolve the long-running Baha Mar dispute. “We are pleased that the court has approved this resolution, which enables us to focus exclusively on our strategy for delivering world class construction projects and hospitality operations to our customers worldwide,” said Yan Wei, CCA’s chairman and chief executive. “We are grateful for the steadfast support of our customers, team and partners as we move forward to embrace future opportunities.” CCA reaffirmed that CCA Bahamas will, as a result of the settlement,
SARKIS Izmirlian’s personal involvement helped secure the settlement of his decade-long legal battle with Baha Mar’s main contractor that was yesterday approved by a US judge. Legal documents filed yesterday with the New Jersey bankruptcy court, and obtained by Tribune Business, disclose that Baha Mar’s original developer was involved in “consultations by telephone” during the two-day mediation that resulted in the deal over his $1.8bn damages award by the New York State Supreme Court China Construction America (CCA), and its two Bahamian affiliates, CCA Bahamas and SETTLEMENT - See Page B3
Sands: ‘No taxpayer value’ in $1.7m AC repairs deal By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
for fundamental changes to the world of work especially the potential introduction of artificial intelligence (AI), which he branded an issue where “we can’t bury our heads in the sand”. Both Mr Weech and Mr Woods, talking ahead of today’s BHTA and tourism industry annual general meeting (AGM), spoke out after the Central Bank of The Bahamas revealed that air arrivals to this nation fell against 2024 comparatives in eight of the first nine months this year. The banking industry regulator, unveiling its monthly economic developments report for October 2025, disclosed that April is the only month to enjoy a year-over-year air arrivals increase with numbers up 9 percent, or 14,300 persons, at 173,000. That, though, is likely to
Government and Bahamian people needed to finance the aid conditioning repairs rather than the ministry’s landlord, Goodman’s Bay Development Corporation, since the system was seemingly part of the building and not the tenant’s responsibility. Describing the circumstances surrounding the contract award to Noontide Management Group as “absolutely absurd”, Dr
CONTRACT - See Page B4
DR DUANE SANDS
BAHA MAR RESORT