By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A LOCAL environmental group yesterday warned Prime Minister Perry Christie that it would notify the cruise ship industry of the continued and illegal operation of Blackbeard’s Cay should his administration not take immediate action to shut down the controversial tourism project. 

Save The Bays (STB) CEO Vanessa Haley-Benjamin, in an open letter to Mr Christie, said Mr Christie’s failure to personally see to the “immediate closure” at Blackbeard’s Cay as directed by a previous Supreme Court order would no doubt cause the cruise ship industry “to be considerably alarmed to learn that they may be contributing to a facility that has been deemed unlawful by the courts”.

Threatening to lodge STB’s concerns with the industry if the “status quo persists”, she urged Mr Christie to “intervene and ensure that the law takes its course before such a step becomes necessary”. 

On August 31, Justice Stephen Isaacs signed an order designed to enforce his initial ruling against the government in the Blackbeard’s Cay matter, the latter of which found that both the Premises Licence for Blackbeard’s Cay’s captive dolphin facility, plus Site Plan Approval, “neither have been granted nor could have been granted”. 

Justice Isaacs’ initial ruling, delivered on July 17, 2014, also found that Blue Illusion Ltd, the owners of the $8m project, were in contravention of the Planning and Subdivisions Act and had conducted extensive development without site plan approval. The ruling further found that Mr Christie and the Town Planning Committee had breached their statutory duties. 

As such, Justice Isaacs’ ruling requires both Mr Christie and the Town Planning Committee to mandate that Blue Illusions cease developing the island location and restore the land to its original condition. And V Alfred Gray, as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, is required to remove the dolphins at Blackbeard’s Cay to a new “appropriate location”. 

Despite Justice Isaacs’ ruling, however, Blackbeard’s Cay has reportedly continued to operate as a cruise passenger getaway. 

As such, Ms Haley-Benjamin said this “high profile flouting of the law” and “abysmal handling of this matter has raised alarming questions about the state of governance in a country that depends on a reputation for stability and adherence to the law for its survival”.

“STB has repeatedly spoken out against foreign developers engaging in unregulated development, damaging our environmental heritage and defying of our sovereign laws in the process,” Ms Haley-Benjamin wrote. “We call upon the government of the Bahamas, as the defender and guarantor of the public’s rights – and particularly on you, Prime Minister, who serves as the custodian of the nation’s patrimony – to take action on this matter immediately.

“If the status quo persists, in due course, we intend to bring our concerns to the attention of the cruise ship industry, whose members would no doubt be considerably alarmed to learn that they may be contributing to a facility that has been deemed unlawful by the courts. We urge you to intervene and ensure that the law takes its course before such a step becomes necessary.”

She added: “Reputable foreign investors seeking to undertake projects that have the potential to create considerable financial and employment opportunities for this country will no doubt be turned off by the impression that the Bahamas has become a ‘wild west’ where the rule of law means little to nothing in practice. 

“At the same time, a failure on your part to treat the court’s order with the respect it deserves will only signal to those wishing to engage in unregulated development, to the detriment of the interests of the Bahamian people, that the government has effectively given them a green light to do as they please.”

In September, Wayne Munroe, QC warned that the Bahamian taxpayer would be held “liable for millions of dollars” should the government succeed in enforcing the Supreme Court order requiring it to close Blackbeard’s Cay. 

Mr Munroe told Tribune Business at the time that such action against his client, Blue Illusions, would be “manifestly unfair” and a breach of their constitutional rights because they were not a party to the court action that produced Justice Isaacs’ order. 

That action was between STB’s civic partner reEarth and the various government defendants, and Mr Munroe said “it wouldn’t be cricket” to enforce the order against Blue Illusions when it had been dismissed as a party to that case. He argued that since reEarth “chose to delete or dismiss” his client from the action, it could not now seek to benefit from an order impacting Blue Illusions – and which he said does not affect it, since it was a “non-party” to the legal battle. 

Blue Illusions, which is headed by St Maarten-based businessman Samir Andrawos, had invested $12m in transforming Blackbeard’s Cay into a cruise passenger getaway experience, complete with dolphin encounter and other attractions.

Between 60 and 100 Bahamians were employed at the site, just off New Providence’s north coast on Balmoral Island, opposite Sandals Royal Bahamian.