By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A TREASURE hunter salvaging a wreck in The Bahamas yesterday branded National Security Minister Wayne Munroe’s recent comments as “inaccurate”, insisting that the process is “transparent”.

Allen Exploration, through its spokesperson, further asserted that Mr Munroe appeared to be unfamiliar with interactions between the company and the Bahamian government.

On Friday, Mr Munroe said the royalties the government has received to date from treasure hunters salvaging wrecks in Bahamian waters have been “unsatisfactory”.

Yesterday, David Concannon, spokesperson for Allen Exploration, the company handling exploration of a sunken treasure ship in Bahamian waters, the Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas, in an email to The Tribune said: “Mr (Carl) Allen is mystified by the reported comments of National Security Minister Wayne Munroe.

“While these statements may have been true concerning activities that occurred in the past, if these comments were meant to apply to Mr Allen, they are inaccurate.”

Mr Munroe said the former Minnis administration had granted one approval and that none was approved under the current Davis administration, adding: “The whole way it operates is unsatisfactory.”

 He continued: “It’s always unsatisfactory when somebody comes and says this is yours, without any sort of way to audit, confirm or evaluate whether what they’re giving you is what you’re truly entitled to.”

 Mr Munroe has also said that the government had been receiving royalties from the treasure find, but it was hard to determine what Allen Exploration or any treasure hunter was actually finding.

 Mr Concannon further said: “Everything Mr Allen and Allen Exploration have done to find and recover artefacts underwater – which are commonly referred to as cultural, not natural, resources – has been in close cooperation with the Bahamian government, in strict accordance with Bahamian law, and under the watchful eye of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.

 “Every item found and recovered is carefully recorded, independently appraised and meticulously accounted for. The items are not transported out of the Bahamas; they are conserved, documented and curated in a state-of-the art facility constructed and operated by Allen Exploration at its own expense, in cooperation with the Bahamian government, and with complete transparency.

 “Minister Munroe appears to be unfamiliar with the interactions between Allen Exploration and the Bahamian government. Artifacts are divided only after an inventory is provided and agreed upon, and independent appraisal is performed. The Bahamas receives 25 percent of the gross value of all of the agreed upon artifacts.

 “The remainder goes to the licence holder, who is responsible for paying 100 percent of the costs incurred to search for, recover, conserve, store, secure and curate the artefacts.

 “The license holder’s final share of 75 percent of the gross value quickly becomes five or 10 percent after these expenses are applied and deducted. Despite what some people may wish to believe, finding artefacts underwater is not a lucrative business. It is more like owning a boat, which has been accurately described as “a hole in the water that you throw money into.”

 Allen Exploration received a license to search for the treasure believed to be in the sunken Spanish galleon off the coast of Walker’s Cay and have an additional operation at the Cay where they are operating a marina with hopes of revitalising the Cay.

 Mr Concannon added: “Mr Allen and his wife Gigi are philanthropists who care deeply about The Bahamas. They have donated millions of dollars to education, healthcare, hurricane relief, providing recreational facilities and to issues promoting general care in The Bahamas. They are pouring tens of millions of dollars into restoring Walker’s Cay, employing Bahamian businesses and craftsmen, and reopening a gateway to the north islands.

 “They do not understand why their efforts to recover, conserve and display cultural resources in cooperation with the Bahamian government has seemingly become a political issue, nor do they appreciate it.”