By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian marinas yesterday urged the Government to “crack down on rogue” operators and private docks as it moves to introduce jetty, mooring and groin fee increases of up to “20 percent”.

Marques Williams, the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president, told Tribune Business it was vital that the Government create a “fair playing field” for the sector by applying the same fees and rates to all including those who had not obtained the proper approval for their facilities.

The fee schedule, set out in the Port Authorities (Amendment) Bill 2024 that was tabled in Parliament alongside Wednesday’s Budget, is unchanged from that contained in similar legislation introduced exactly 12 months ago. However, the latest Bill contains something its predecessor lacked - an implementation date of January 1, 2025.

Mr Williams, confirming that these fees have yet to be brought into effect, said all dock, jetty and marine causeway owners - private and public - will be impacted by “the enforcement date” and new per linear foot rates. However, he suggested the impact will vary between marinas and depends on a variety of technical factors including how the fees will be assessed,

Asserting that the marina industry has received “ample” warning and time to prepare, especially with the implementation pushed back to New Year’s Day 2025, the ABM chief told this newspaper: “The impact all depends on a variety of different things. It’s how these things are assessed. There’s a lot of other parameters with regards to dock fees. It’s going to be interesting to see how it’s assessed.

“The ABM members and marinas will have to see how their facilities are going to be assessed and, with that information, they will be able to see how their finances and budgeting for government fees will change. The fees were presented a long time ago. This gives us ample time; this one gives us ample time to prepare. That works very well. We can actually in our budget for that year factor that in.

“It’s going to be very interesting how they assess the linear footage and how they calculate it. That’s going to be the most important part in how they assess those fees.” Mr Williams, though, said implementation of the new fees for private, commercial and industrial jetties, groins, moorings, causeways and pipelines raises various unanswered questions, including who will be responsible for calculating footage and fees.

“It also creates a question that’s always been an issue,” Mr Williams told Tribune Business. “What about those persons who have built their marinas and docks without proper approval, and how do you charge those persons? There’s a lot of other things we’d like to know about.

“This has been a problem where persons built large marinas without getting approval, flying under the radar. I’m sure everyone wants a fair playing field, so it’s something we want the Government to look at and crack down on.”

The Bill tabled on Wednesday stipulates who is responsible for collecting the fees, not who will assess them. Private owners of jetties, groins, moorings and causeways will have their fees billed and included in their real property tax assessments, with the levy paid to the chief valuation officer.

For commercial and industrial facilities, the fee is to be paid to the Port controller on New Providence and island administrator in the relevant Family Island. Persons seeking to construct jetties, groins, moorings, causeways and pipelines will also be legally mandated to apply for, and obtain, the relevant seabed lease whose issuance will be governed by environmental laws and regulations.

Peter Maury, a past ABM president, said the imminent fee increases are just another expense that Bahamian marina operators have to deal with at a time when they are being squeezed, or pinched, by a combination of reduced revenues arising from lower vessel occupancies and continued cost increases in areas such as electricity and fuel.

Disclosing that “for the most part it looks like a 20 percent” fee increase, he added: “It definitely affects us. All our occupancies in the marinas have gone down, and now we have more expenses. The cost of electricity has gone up, the cost of fuel has gone up. Everything has gone up.

“We sell dockage, which is space. There was no consultation, but there never is. It’s going to increase our expenses. As businesses that are required to maintain margins, it’s going to drive down our occupancies and make The Bahamas less attractive than it is now.

“I just had a captain on a 160-foot yacht walk into my office and say he’s had the most unpleasant experience in coming to The Bahamas.. just clearing Customs and Immigration. He had to apply for a charter licence. They asked him why he was doing this. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble but that’s the truth,” Mr Maury continued.

“Every marina is lowering their dockage prices. The rack rates are going down. The Government takes 10 percent of what we charge. It’s 10 percent of less.... The only way to keep boats here is to keep dropping our rates because of the high cost of electricity and everything else. They [the Government] don’t want to discuss anything with the stakeholders. They run on with how much they consult but that’s not true.”

Mr Maury said the impact is also being felt by Family Island marinas. While George Town marinas were benefiting from increased airlift, he added that this was not the situation in the cays. “I talked to a guy the other day,” he added. “The northern Exumas are just getting hammered. They don’t have the airlift that George Town does and rely on people coming by boat.

“I don’t know. It’s tough. I kind of expected the Budget I got. It gets worse every time; higher fees and taxes. That’s what we can expect. We knew our industry was going to get hit again. Somehow they’re going to work something in. It’ll impact everything. It’s like a shop owner when the landlord comes in and says he’s raising your rent. You can’t really do anything about it right now, and we get less for it.”