By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

An Andros shipping company, which in summer 2021 was hailed as the largest recipient of financing arranged through the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC), yesterday said it has “beaten every financial projection” since launching.

Valentino Munroe, Central Andros Shipping’s managing director, told the Andros Business Outlook conference that the company has “invested significantly in strengthening our operations” over the past year because of the challenges experienced in keeping up with its “phenomenal” growth.

With its flagship vessel, the 196-foot Captain Prince, serving all parts of Andros, he unveiled ambitions to ultimately expand to operating international cargo shipping routes between Florida and a number of Bahamian islands while remaining true to the company’s roots.

“Since we launched operations just a year ago, we have exceeded every financial projection in our business plan,” Mr Munroe said. “Our growth has been incredible. We currently serve the entire island of Andros, and don’t know if this has happened before in a consistent way.

“The way we do it today, as the operator of a single vessel, we probably move more than any other operator on Potter’s Cay dock.” He added that Central Andros Shipping has a one-day vessel turnaround time, calling at South Andros on a Monday; returning to Nassau to load up again on Tuesday; arriving in Central Andros on Wednesday; returning to Potter’s Cay again on Thursday; and then calling in Morgan’s Bluff on Friday.

“Our vision is to develop an international shipping route between Florida and the entire island of Andros,” Mr Munroe revealed. “We will also look to serve the neighbouring islands of New Providence, Exuma and Eleuthera, all by providing international shipping services. This will be done by a company headquartered in Andros and owned by Androsians.......

“Over the last year we’ve invested significantly in strengthening our operations and capacity because the growth has been so phenomenal that we’ve been really challenged to keep up. We are building out, and have improved our facilities on the vessel - navigation, auto pilot and steering systems.

“We have built an office building on Potter’s Cay dock that has improved our ability to receive cargo with a storage facility when the vessel is not in port. We look to build similar facilities in Morgan’s Bluff and Fresh Creek, Andros, over the next few months.”

Mr Munroe said his family has a long history in shipping. His father, together with his uncle, Samuel, built their first 40-foot vessel, the Pleasant, by hand in the early 1970s and operated from Staniard Creek in central Andros. They expanded through the addition of extra boats, the Central Andros Express One and Two, plus the Lady D, the latter being a 100-foot vessel.

However, it was left to Mr Munroe to carry on the family tradition when Central Andros Shipping was incorporated in 2017. “He was very much part of the plan to rebuild the shipping operation in such a way as to make a much more significant impact on Andros’ development,” he added of his father. “He was very excited about it, but while he supported it wholeheartedly, the transition was not as smooth as we expected it to be.

“That’s a national challenge, the difficulty some of our people have passing the baton...... While we were able to work through it, it should become an important part of the discussion of our national development.” Mr Munroe suggested this may have resulted from “the fear factor”, and a reluctance to let go as persons pass on to the next stage in their life.

Central Andros Shipping received $735,000 in financing from Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) and the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund (BEVF), which was arranged through the SBDC and its Access Accelerator. He acknowledged that the latter was “initially challenged with the size of the proposal in terms of funding” but was able to work through it.

“Shipping is really the lifeblood of The Bahamas, and no matter where we are in national development we will never outgrow the need to move cargo from one island to the next,” Mr Munroe said. “Andros will always have a strong foothold in the shipping industry.

“Just a few weeks ago, we had the privilege of supporting the South Andros homecoming. This is an annual event, and really took off in the early 1990s. We moved 250=300 passengers and 45 vehicles all in a weekend for three days. When you think about it, it’s practically impossible to expand or grow these local economies without the ability to move people in these numbers and in this way.”

Mr Munroe said Central Andros Shipping provides “a weekend getaway into Morgan’s Bluff”, leaving Nassau on Friday with an average 80-100 passengers and between 15-30 vehicles. He added that it allows Androsians to “return home at an affordable cost and get back to Nassau fresh for Monday morning” and work.