By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A motor yacht captain yesterday said Bahamian tourism’s fears for the peak summer boating season are “spot on” after his vessel was recalled to the US three months early over the new and hiked fees.

Captain David Meyer, master of the Motor Yacht M/Y Escape, in an e-mail to Tribune Business revealed that his vessel has been forced to alter its plans after getting no charter requests during the entire three months it was in Nassau.

Blaming this on the 14 percent all-in foreign yacht charter contract fee, which has now rolled VAT into the previous 4 percent Port Department fee, he added that the highest levies in the Western Hemisphere are costing the Bahamian economy significant spend by boating passengers and their crews.

Noting that his vessel spent $30,000 in The Bahamas to prepare for just one week-long charter, and injected $500,000 in total into the economy over a two-year period, Captain Meyer argued that those most impacted by the likely drop-off in visiting boaters will be the multiple Bahamian service providers who supplied them with services, products and provisions.

And, while acknowledging that The Bahamas has the sovereign right to determine the fees and levies it imposes on visiting boats and yachts, and ensure that the Public Treasury gains its fair share, he warned that the combination of increased temporary cruising permit fees, plus new fishing permit and anchorage fees, are coalescing with the foreign yacht charter fee to “drive” visitors away.

“I run a 114-foot motor yacht out of Florida. We had planned on staying in Nassau for the summer months for charter but, as the Bahamas government has decided to implement new fees and increase restrictions, the owners recalled us back to the US three months early and we have changed our plans moving forward,” Captain Meyer revealed to this newspaper.

“In the three months we were in Nassau we got no charter requests...none. But we got several for Saint Maarten that have booked already, and so the decision has been made to head to Saint Maarten instead of The Bahamas as soon as we get to the tail end of hurricane season.

“Simply put, the fees are driving people away and, as a result, the $30,000 we put into the economy to prepare for a week-long charter - on top of the 10 percent VAT and 4 percent Port Tax - is no longer there. My last boat put over $500,000 into the Bahamian economy in two years there,” he added.

“We bought everything local. We got work done locally. We hired local labour for various tasks an, from time to time, even hired local mariners. When guests wanted to fish we hired local guides. But when the charters dried up, that boat is no longer coming to The Bahamas for the winter, and they spend their summers in New England.

“Many in The Bahamas think that charter boats make money, but they do not. Nobody makes money. Every penny goes into the boat in repair and upkeep. At the most it helps offset some expenses. But profit...not even close.”

While there is almost-universal agreement that visiting boats and yachts should pay their fair share for commercial exploitation of The Bahamas’ natural resources, especially its pristine marine environment, the concern has been over the magnitude and scale of the latest new and increased fees, together with the lack of warning and consultation offered by The Bahamas.

“I want to make it absolutely clear that I support the right of the Bahamian government to implement their own policies, and I believe that the Bahamian people deserve to make money from the boats that are there,” Captain Meyer said. “I can’t speak for every boat, but I will tell you that for myself and the other captains that may operate there, we will abide by those rules.

“But the fact is that the new fees are driving people away. I’d love to see the people in the Family Islands make money from anchor/ mooring fees, but that isn’t likely to happen. I’d be happy to see fishing licences issued for each island group, and the fees for those licences go directly to those islands. But they don’t, and they won’t without the Government making some drastic changes in their thinking.

“Why are boats going to the islands in the southern Caribbean? Simple...none of those fees exist other than the bridge fee in Saint Maarten and a few other smaller fees.” Peter Maury, the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president, yesterday told Tribune Business he “just had another cancellation for next year” with a 50 metre vessel opting to go to Mexico instead.

“It was just slow,” he said of the July 4 independence weekend, which is traditionally one of the busiest weekends in the peak summer boating season. “It was slower than last year. I can tell you that. We definitely had more cancellations in our marinas than normal. I still think we have made a huge mistake in policy. We should be taking advantage of the volatility in global economics.

“They’ve forced the boats to go elsewhere. We’ve all reduced our rates. For the first time last year Atlantis cut their rates. Everyone’s reducing their rates to keep the boats longer and, as a result,the Government gets less revenue. I had a few boats return from Exuma, but a lot of them are packing up. They’ll stay to the first hurricane comes in August, and the few that stay for Labour Day are going to move already.”