By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

MAIL boat practices are creating further hardship for Family Island economies, a Chamber of Commerce executive yesterday warning: "This is not acceptable in the 21st century."

Roderick Simms, chair of the Chamber's Family Island division, told Tribune Business he was receiving constant complaints from the southern Bahamas that some mail boats were not abiding by government-imposed freight tariffs.

Revealing that other parts of the Bahamas have also been impacted by this practice, Mr Simms said businesses and consumers were being equally impacted by price fluctuations resulting from mail boat operators "charging whatever they want to charge".

He added that other complaints related to infrequent sailings; missing goods; and perishables that went bad during voyages because refrigeration equipment was broken.

Mr Simms called for "a national conversation" on reforming the mail boat sector and inter-island freight transportation, arguing that the Bahamas had "kicked the can down the road" far too often.

He said conversations with Frankie Campbell, minister of transport and local government, indicated that the issue was "top of the radar" for the Government, and he urged mail boat operators to negotiate increased tariffs with the Minnis administration if current rates were pushing them into a loss.

"We have to do something about the mail boats nationally," Mr Simms told Tribune Business, adding that the situation was causing further hardship for already-struggling Family Island economies and communities.

"The mail boats are not operating on time, they have no care and regard for the islands, they have no care for the Government tariff put in place; they charge whatever they want, stuff goes missing and, when the freezer is not working, they have to throw their clients' goods away."

Mr Simms said he had received complaints from north Andros as well as the southern Bahamas about the situation, adding that it impacted inventory and financial management for businesses on these islands.

"We as taxpayers are already subsidising the mail boats," he added, "and the mail boats are charging their own prices. If I'm a business owner on the island, I have to pass that extra cost on. They're not abiding by the standard rate, and I can't absorb those extra costs. There's no consistency in the prices and cost of goods."

Mr Simms said the inconsistent freight rates and charges made consistent pricing impossible, and affected compliance on goods that were regulated by Price Control.

He added that he discussed the issue with former minister of transport and aviation, Glenys Hanna Martin, who was "very responsive" but little action occurred.

The Chamber executive said the matter had now been raised with her successor, Mr Campbell, and Miriam Emmanuel, the MP for the MICAL constituency, which appears "particularly challenged" by the problem.

With the issue seemingly "top of the radar" for both, Mr Simms added: "We can't keep on letting the mail boats operate in this manner. We need a national conversation. We can't keep on kicking this can down the road."

Acknowledging that the Government-mandated tariffs may be causing mail boat operators to function at a loss, he urged the sector to lobby the Minnis administration to increase freight rates rather than take matters into their own hands.

"If the tariff needs to change, let's change it," he told Tribune Business. "They're supposed to abide by the tariff set by the Government. They should advocate to the Government to revise the tariff; don't necessarily charge what you want to charge.

"The Minister of Transport and Local Government has to rein in these mail boat operators; they cannot be allowed to operate however they want. They charge $10 one week, then $20 the next, and my prices fluctuate and I have to pass it on to customers who are already suffering economic hardship. It's hurting already-fragile economies.

"We have to look at it. It's creating economic hardship on the islands, and the islands are already burdened as it is. There are only two ways to get freight on to the islands - shipping and air - and sea freight is a lot more economical but not reliable."

Should the mail boat problems persist, Mr Simms suggested that the Bahamas look at competing options, such as encouraging Bahamas Ferries to further expand its services and deliver "more efficient and economic freight".

He argued that the failure to address the situation to-date was "no longer acceptable in the 21st century", and said: "This is not a situation that came up last year or only the year before. It's been going on consistently."

Mr Simms, who is presently in Inagua, said mail boat concerns had not only been raised with him on that island, but also on Mayaguana. He recalled being informed by an Acklins couple how they had paid $60 for a shipment of gasoline, and the vessel operator never delivered it.

"The shipping industry in the southern Bahamas is a Wild, Wild West," he charged to Tribune Business. "This cannot be allowed to go on every year. It's something that's been going on for too long now."