By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN dive operators running trips in the Bahamas contribute nothing to the economy and compete at an unfair advantage against local outfits, Neal Watson, the president of Bahamas Dive Association (BDA), said yesterday.

Mr Watson said US dive companies are able to come to the Bahamas and run full service dive operations due to a loophole in the Charter Boat Legislation passed in 1991.

“This is a very controversial issue,” he said. “It was never designed for that purpose. The legislation was designed to encourage yacht owners to cruise to the Bahamas and base their vessels here,” he said.

The BDA president said US dive companies bring groups of 10 to 20 divers on their vessels to the Bahamas. “They clear Customs and Immigration and then they go out and dive, utilising resources in the Bahamas for a week. They are literally floating self-contained dive resorts,” he explained.

“They are the hotel, restaurant, bar, gift shop, and they operate their dive operations competing with local Bahamian businesses and contributing next to nothing.”

Mr Watson said they do not pay duty on their vessels or equipment and they purchase fuel at a cheaper rate in the US. He stated that they have all foreign crews and do not employ one Bahamian.

“They do not have to pay for work permits and so it has created a situation where dive businesses owned and operated by Bahamians are operating at a financial disadvantage to businesses based in the US.”

The BDA has no control over the activities of US dive operators, Mr Watson said. He noted that the fatality off Grand Bahama last week is a prime example of what can happen when foreign dive operators do not follow proper protocols.

Dr John Petty, 63, of Longview, Texas, disappeared while scuba diving on July 13 with tiger sharks off West End. He was with eight other divers aboard the Shear Water, which is operated by Jim Abernethy Scuba Adventures based in Lake Park, Florida.

A three-day search for Dr Petty by US Coast Guard and Bahamian authorities recovered shredded dive gear and a camera. He is believed to have been a victim of a shark attack and an investigation is continuing.

The BDA is in discussions with government to establish guidelines and procedures to ensure proper safe diving procedures are followed by foreign-based operators. Mr Watson believes that if a foreign vessel wants to operate in the Bahamas they should be required to base their business in the country.

“We suggest at least nine months of the year,” he said. “Why should they be able to bring a boat and equipment in and not pay duty on it when a Bahamian has to? They should be required to hire Bahamians or get work permits for their crew.”

According to Mr Watson, another advantage is that the foreign dive vessels are able to move throughout the 100,000 square miles of the Bahamas.

“They are self-contained live-aboard vessels and their sales pitch is that they can take divers to all the remote areas that land-based dive operations can’t take their customers. There is a lot of truth to that – the only problem is they don’t do that. They anchor on our moorings and on our dive sites,” he said.

The BDA president believes that foreign boats should be prohibited from diving within a ten-mile radius of land-based Bahamian dive operations. They would still have 90,000 square miles to take their customers, he said.

Mr Watson was also concerned about the tax advantage foreign operators have. “They are required to pay four per cent gross and this is not verifiable, it is almost voluntary. Now, Bahamian dive operators or a dive operation that is owned by a hotel, is paying 18 or 20 per cent.

“The hotel taxes and promotion board fees we would like to re-address – and the four per cent they pay. We are not trying to stop them from coming in; we need them on an even playing field with Bahamian operators,” Mr Watson said.