By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government yesterday abruptly terminated the Exuma-wide moorings deal amid Opposition demands that “someone fall on their sword” and fears up to 90 percent of boaters may abandon the destination.

The Davis administration moved swiftly to quell the mounting controversy and public outrage over its lease agreement with Bahamas Moorings as both sides revealed they have “mutually agreed” not to proceed after their previously secret tie-up - and the involvement of persons with strong links to the Prime Minister’s Office - were exposed.

The Prime Minister’s Office, in announcing the break-up, said Bahamas Moorings is “voluntarily relinquishing” its leases and will remove all the moorings and buoys installed to-date at its own cost. And it is also conducting an “internal review” into how Sandra Kemp, its deputy director of communications, witnesses the lease execution and signed it on the company’s behalf while employed by the Government.

The statement from Philip Davis KC’s office implied that it was unaware of Mrs Kemp’s involvement as a lease witness or that her husband, Philip A. Kemp II, was one of Bahamas Moorings’ two principals named in the lease document. However, Dr Duane Sands, the FNM’s chairman, told this newspaper that he and other Bahamians find this had to believe especially since Mr Davis himself signed the lease.

Blasting the deal as “a blatantly unacceptable conflict of interest”, he said the Exuma moorings controversy “reeks” and “stinks” and “the public believes this is a corrupt deal”. Dr Sands argued that the language used by the Prime Minister’s Office was tantamount to an admission that “we got caught, we didn’t expect to get caught and we’re hoping that everyone kisses, shakes hands and walks away”.

The FNM chairman also agreed with Tribune Business that it was an “appropriate analogy” to describe the Bahamas Moorings situation as the Davis administration’s ‘Oban moment’, a reference to the Grand Bahama oil refinery deal that its Minnis predecessor signed but never proceeded after the questionable backgrounds of some of its principals and investors was exposed.

Besides seeking to end public discussion and commentary around the Bahamas Moorings deal, the Government also likely acted to head-off potential fall-out among high-spending boaters that generate a significant economic boost for Exuma communities and other Family Islands.

Wally Moran, who writes for sailing publications and has produced videos for the Sailing Channel, told this newspaper an informal online poll he conducted at the weekend revealed that 90.2 percent of respondents - more than nine in every ten - said they would either abandon the Exumas or go elsewhere in The Bahamas if the moorings/anchorage plan took root (see other article on Page 1B).

Tribune Business, meanwhile, confirmed other notable coincidences involving some of the key players in the Bahamas Moorings deal. A bill of lading, detailing Bahamas Moorings’ importation of anchors and link chains from China, gives the company’s address as Suite No.5, 138 Wulff Road.

Research showed that also located at 138 Wulff Road is Cubix Bahamas, a shipping company and freight forwarder. Mrs Kemp, who witnessed the signing of the Exuma Cays lease deal on Bahamas Moorings’ behalf, states on her Linkedin page that she has served as “head of marketing communications” for Cubix Bahamas from March 2018 to the “present”. 

This implies that she is still working for the company even while acting as the deputy director of communications in the Prime Minister’s Office. Referring to Mrs Kemp’s role in witnessing the lease, Mr Davis’s office said yesterday: “The Office of the Prime Minister has since become aware that an employee of our office acted as a witness to the lease. We are conducting an internal review of the matter.”

The lease stated that Mrs Kemp is “of Bahamas Moorings”, and that she “subscribed my name to complete the due execution of the lease” for the company. Several observers, speaking on condition of anonymity, have questioned her involvement given that she is acting as witness on behalf of a private company to a deal with her employer, the Government of The Bahamas. They pointed out that ‘general orders’, which govern the civil service, require officials to disclose any private dealings that may conflict with their public duties and, potentially, divest them.

Meanwhile, confirming that itself and Bahamas Moorings will not proceed with a deal that critics allege gave a private company an effective monopoly over all safe anchorage/mooring sites in the Exumas outside the Land and Sea Park, the Prime Minister’s Office added: “The placement of moorings prior to the full set of approvals and the involvement of an.. employee have raised concerns about the venture.

“As a result, the Government and Bahamas Moorings Ltd have agreed not to move forward with the agreement, with Bahamas Moorings voluntarily relinquishing their leases. Bahamas Moorings will remove any moorings already installed at their own cost.

“We are grateful for their co-operation, and for the vision they shared with the Government regarding how to manage moorings in our waters in ways which are consistent with marine conservation principles. It’s important that the Bahamian public has confidence that mooring rights are handled transparently and in a manner consistent with the national interest.”

Besides raising questions over the Davis administration’s apparent lack of transparency and failure to consult Out Island communities, observers had also challenged why a deal of this nature was not put out to competitive bidding via a request for proposal (RFP).

And they queried why the Government had not adopted a different public-private partnership (PPP) model by retaining the seabed and, instead, hiring a private management company through competitive bidding to operate the moorings/anchorages. The two sides could then have entered into a revenue/profit sharing arrangement with some of the proceeds directed to environmental preservation.

“We are committed to moving forward with a process that includes broader stakeholder and public consultation, including the convening of local government officials and representatives of the marine industry, in order to formulate a new policy structure for managing seabed leases,” the Prime Minister’s Office said, in a nod to both public pressure while hinting that the Bahamas Moorings scheme may come back in a revised format.

Bahamas Moorings itself, in its own statement, said the project was designed to protect “the country’s invaluable marine environment”. It added: “After careful consideration and extensive discussions, both parties have mutually agreed that the proposed mooring venture will not proceed.

“This decision was not made lightly. Both Bahamas Moorings and the Government share a deep commitment to marine conservation, sustainable tourism and responsible boating practices. The need for a structured and well-regulated mooring system remains evident, as unregulated anchoring continues to impact fragile marine ecosystems, including coral reefs and seagrass beds.”

Dr Sands, though, was unimpressed. “The question is what if this had not been discovered, and how could this happen involving individuals so closely connected to the seat of government?” he blasted. “They [the Prime Minister’s Office] have not gone far enough, and these blatantly unacceptable conflicts of interest ought to require someone to fall on their sword. It’s not enough to issue some tepid statement...

“It stinks. It reeks, and the public believe this is a corrupt deal. We have to call it what it is. You have to identify them and deal with them accordingly. This is carefully parsed language [in the statement]. This is legalease and legal speak. For ‘we got caught, we didn’t expect to get caught, and we’re hoping everyone kisses, shakes hands and walks away.

“The Bahamian people are not going to accept this, the Opposition is not going to accept this. This is an incident that needs to be dealt with accordingly. The Prime Minister’s Office needs to do more than this. This is a reasonable start, perhaps, but are you going to ask the members of staff complicit in this” to resign?”

Warning that “this is not going to go away”, Dr Sands asked: “How did this occur in the first place? Where does the buck stop? Who signed this lease? Was it discussed by Cabinet? If not, why not? Who knew what When did they know it? Who was involved? 

“I wonder if the MP for Exuma [deputy prime minister Chester Cooper] was aware. It’s his constituency. Was the minister responsible for the environment aware? It’s an absolute disgrace. We’re not impressed. I’m not impressed. They’ve got to do better. They can start with an apology to the Bahamian public and can follow up with a couple of terminations. Do the right thing for a change.”

The Government previously said the anchorage/mooring plan was approved by the Cabinet in June 2022 but the lease was not signed until January 23, 2025. “It sounds like the Prime Minister’s got some explaining to do,” Dr Sands added. “Is he going to admit what happened here or was this a deal by others, something done in the dark that came out in the light?”

While acknowledging that comparisons with Oban made him “a little uncomfortable”, Dr Sands conceded that there are some parallels but argued that “Oban never got out the door” while the Davis administration was actively moving to “privatise the seabed and waters of Exuma, monetise this thing and create the apparition this was going to benefit the  Bahamian people. In reality, it was going to benefit this company’s principals.”

In return for leasing a total 4,615 acres from the Government for 21 years, with effect from February 1, 2025, Bahamas Moorings had agreed to pay an annual rent equal to 3 percent of gross revenue collected from boaters plus 10 percent VAT. The firm, which says its fees are VAT inclusive, has also issued social media messages saying boaters can use its moorings free of charge until its official launch.

This was to take place at the Palm Beach International Boat show from March 19-23, 2025. For mooring at its round buoys, Bahamas Moorings was proposing to charge fees ranging from $25 to $135 per day depending on vessel length, plus fees of between $170 and $250 per day for “super yachts” mooring at its taper buoys again depending on length.

Anchorage fees were to range from 55 cents per foot per day to $1.10 per foot per day, again depending on boat length. Bahamas Moorings argued that its mooring/anchorage plan would bring order to the present chaos on Bahamian waters by giving boats and yachts designated points where they can tie up, thus preventing damage to the seabed, coral reefs and other ecosystems from anchors dragging.

Tribune Business previously reported many of those involved in the Bahamas Moorings Company deal have close links to the Office of the Prime Minister and senior persons who work in it. Of the two principals named in the lease, Tribune Business research reveals that Philip A. Kemp II is a former City Markets chief financial officer, having been part of both the ill-fated Trans-Island Traders deal and its predecessor, BK Foods.

And Raymond Christian Knowles, better known by his middle name, is a boat captain with the ‘Pieces of 8’ tour boat and charter operator, where he is described as “a 30-year veteran on the open waters” who has worked as a commercial fisherman.

The address for serving Bahamas Moorings Company, No.3 Bayside Executive Park in western New Providence, is the same as that for two entities playing a key role in the Government’s energy reforms - Bahamas Grid Company, which now controls New Providence’s energy grid, and Island Power Producers, the company that will supply energy to cruise ships docked in Nassau.

The address is the home of Levant Advisors, incorrectly spelt as Lavent in the lease document, which appears to be a newly-formed boutique financial services firm. Its website lists Levant’s principals as Anthony Ferguson, the company’s founder who is also CFAL chief, and Antoine Bastian, the Genesis Fund Services head.

Both men are heavily involved with the Office of the Prime Minister as they are leading the Government’s efforts to monetise The Bahamas’ seagrass meadows, mangroves and other so-called ‘carbon sinks’ via the creation of ‘blue carbon credits’ - an initiative much-touted by the Government.