THE arrival this week in Bimini of a huge seafloor dredger which environmentalists are calling “The Reef Destroyer” is proof that the Bahamian government is flouting a top judge’s stern warning, environmental watch group reEarth is claiming.

“Bimini is home to some of the rarest and most valuable marine species in The Bahamas – maybe even in the world – and that enormous machine cannot be permitted to destroy the habitat there,” said reEarth founder Sam Duncombe yesterday. “Already, more than a decade of development has wreaked havoc on the populations of fish and sharks.”

“The government obviously has no respect for the judicial system or the environment,” Ms Duncombe said. “They are allowing the developers to forge ahead with their enormous pier while the matter is still before the court, despite being warned by a senior judge that all work should stop.”

Last month, Court of Appeal Justice Abdulai Conteh told lawyers for the government and developer Resorts World Bimini that construction of a controversial cruise ship terminal should not be allowed to progress while the project is being challenged in the courts.

Justice Conteh’s comments came during the ongoing appeal against a Supreme Court ruling that unless environmental groups Bimini Blue Coalition and Save The Bays pay a collective $650,000 “security for costs” to the government and Resorts World Bimini, their judicial review action of the Bimini development would be dismissed.

A Resorts World spokesman told The

Tribune that the developer had complied with all court orders and government approval processes. “Resorts World Bimini has followed the prescribed regulatory process and adhered to all applicable laws relating to our development. We have secured the necessary approvals from the appropriate government agencies and complied with all judicial orders. We will continue to work as expeditiously on our development as the approvals allow.”

Fred Smith, QC, who is representing the environmental groups, said: “That monster dredger cannot be allowed to tear up the seabed off the coast of north Bimini. There are 14 world-class dive sites and some of the most sensitive and important reef systems on earth there – many of them directly in the developers’ intended path of destruction.”

The 450-foot, 1,200 ton Niccolo Machiavelli is a specialised cutter-suction dredger designed to break up hard material which standard dredgers cannot remove. It is among the most powerful machines of its kind and environmentalists are concerned it is set to be unleashed on one of the most pristine and significant marine ecosystems in the world.

“Resorts World Bimini is being allowed to move full speed ahead by a government that has failed in its mandate to act in the interest of Bahamians – and this despite a strong warning from one of the country’s top judges.”

Last week, Mr Smith wrote to the Attorney General’s Office urging the government not to do anything to jeopardise the Bimini judicial review proceedings and to Resorts World Bimini, asking the company to confirm whether the government had granted any permits, licences or approvals in respect to the development.