By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Fears have been voiced that new safety measures proposed with the 2025-2026 Budget could prove a deterrent to small boats/yachts and drive them away from visiting The Bahamas.

Maritime industry stakeholders warned Port Department officials that planned amendments to the Port Authorities Act, which impose a blanket requirement on all foreign-flagged vessels to be equipped with a fully-functioning automatic identification system (AIS) that is always turned on while in The Bahamas, do not match US and international laws and standards.

In particular, they pointed out that the US Coastguard only requires vessels 65 feet or longer to be equipped with an AIS. As a result, smaller yachts and boats - such as the many 35-foot Boston Whalers or centre consoles that frequently visit The Bahamas, and especially northern islands such as Bimini - would now be required to invest in outfitting themselves with this system if the reforms pass as is.

Apart from calls to change the Port Authorities (Amendment) Bill 2025, so that it aligns with US and global mandates by tying the installation and operation of an AIS system to a vessel’s length, maritime industry participants also suggested the language needs to be clearer to prevent definition discrepancies and interpretation differences from afflicting the sector.

Port Department officials were informed that the US ‘65 feet and over’ requirement only applies to commercial vessels, and “most of the boats coming to The Bahamas that are over 65 feet” do not fall into this category and are classified as ‘private’. However, The Bahamas in contrast treats those vessels that are chartering as “commercial” - directly contradicting their classification in the US.

The concerns relate specifically to the Bill’s clause seven, which seeks to introduce a new section 40B into the Port Authorities Act that will “impose the duty on all foreign vessels in Bahamian waters to utilise an automated identification system at all times and the penalty of $1,000 for persons who do not comply”.

The clause itself mandates that “every foreign vessel that is in Bahamian waters shall at all times be equipped with an automated identification system; ensure that the automated identification system is properly functioning; and ensure the automated identification system is turned on”. This applies whether the vessel is docked, “traversing the water of The Bahamas” or passing through its territorial waters.

Lonna Bethel, the Port Department’s assistant controller, acknowledged that the AIS requirement is based primarily on a vessel being present in Bahamian waters and “doesn’t mention” its length as a determinant for whether such a system has to be installed and/or switched on - unlike US coastguard regulations.

As a result, maritime industry representatives suggested that The Bahamas’ legislative reforms are going much further than the US - where the vast majority of its visiting boats and boaters are from - by imposing the AIS mandate on vessels below 65 feet in length. The expense and inconvenience of having to now fit their boats with AIS to comply with Bahamian law could be a deterrent to visiting this nation.

Jonathan Lord, a Ministry of Tourism official, recommended that the Bill be amended to base the requirement on vessel length. He spoke after Erica Wright, of USA Yachting Services, pointed out that - if the proposed legislation passes as is - “those 30-foot sports fishers that come over for a week will have to have AIS now”.

“You would probably be best to amend to feet because of the lady that brought up the point, her boats,” Mr Lord said. “Talking about centre consoles and above, that’s a significant amount of traffic to The Bahamas. Most of them probably do not have the AIS on because they are not required, so we don’t want to complicate that by asking 35-foot Boston Whalers to put on an AIS. So maybe if you look at feet that might be a little bit better.”

Ms Bethel responded that the Government, and Port Department’s position, was “always safety” comes first. This provoked a response from one participant, “Captain Naynay”, who said: “Lonna, I agree with you, but you’re talking about government’s position when we’re talking about experiencing it. We’re not talking about in some office...

“Obviously, if you look at Bimini, they have a bunch of 40-foot boats. They have 500 boats in a weekend. They don’t need AIS. Now you’re telling them they cannot come to The Bahamas no more? Come on. Let’s look at what you are saying.”

This prompted push back from Ms Bethel, who responded that she “didn’t like the tone of your last point”. She reiterated that, while the Port Department would always seek to strike the correct balance between regulation and commerce, safety on the water will always be its top priority.

“We don’t always get it right,” she conceded. “We are in the office, you are out there on the water; you are doing your thing. When you make your suggestions, which we want to hear, I just want you to keep in mind our position with safety.

“If you’re mentioning that would still achieve our position by looking at the length of the vessel, 65 feet and above, we’re [going to] write that down and take that where it needs to go so that something can happen.”

Ms Wright then explained that the US Coastguard’s AIS requirement only applies to commercial vessels over 65 fete in length. “Most of those boats coming to The Bahamas that are over 65 feet, they are not deemed in commercial use,” she said. “They are deemed in private use. So I have plenty of boats that are 120 feet, 130 feet, and they do not have AIS equipment on them.

“Those boats are coming to The Bahamas, and you guys may be classifying them as commercial because they are chartering and acquired a Bahamian charter licence, but on their terms, the way they are registered and their flag is, they are still considered private and not in commercial use.”

Ms Bethel acknowledged that “that’s where the definition and classification needs to come in”, and added: “It is the view to ensure the sector remains safe. These are more so preventative measures. If we find there is a clash between us wanting to ensure the sector stays safe, and you feeling the grip is too tight, we need a bit more wiggle room, then OK.

“We need to know that so we can see how we can get that good balance between what we want, which is keeping safe, and what you want, which is making money.” Ms Bethel added that there was now “a very tight window” for any changes to be made to the Bill, with the House of Assembly now set to complete the Budget debate this Thursday, June 19.

Meanwhile Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) officials, who were on the same call, also warned that the cargo ships and other large vessels weighing under 300 gross tons are not required by international law to turn on their AIS systems.

And they added that the Port Authorities (Amendment) Bill 2025 also needed to be aligned with maritime law, rules and regulations by inserting a clause that provides a “reasonable excuse” for a vessel’s master to turn off the AIS system in exceptional circumstances such as the threat of an attack or piracy.