THE 60 mega watt (MW) shore power provider for Nassau Cruise Port’s docked vessels is seeking a further $100m in financing via a bond issue that is set to launch on November 6.

CFAL, the placement agent and offering adviser to Island Power Producers, disclosed in a statement yesterday that Island Power Producers is now targeting institutional and sophisticated retail investors to meet the funding needs for it to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuelled energy to the mega vessels docked in downtown Nassau

The investment house added that the bond issue, which is targeted to close on November 14 after remaining open for just eight days, follows swiftly behind the private placement of Island Power Producers’ shares that closed in August 2025 after being oversubscribed by $12m. All investor subscriptions for that offering, which was priced at $10 per share with a minimum subscription of $1,000, were accepted. CFAL’s newly-created private equity fund was to make a $10m investment in that Island Power Producers share offering.

The minimum investment in the bond offering, CFAL said yesterday, will be $50,000 with investors allowed to acquire increments of $10,000 thereafter. 

“CFAL is proud to once again offer a new investment opportunity to the public, furthering our commitment to allowing Bahamians to participate and benefit from infrastructure projects within The Bahamas,” said Angelo Butler, CFAL’s manager of corporate advisory services. 

“Projects like these demonstrate the strength of Bahamian capital markets and the appetite among local investors to participate in the nation’s transition toward cleaner, more sustainable energy solutions.”

Tribune Business, which previously revealed that both Nassau Cruise Port and BISX-listed Arawak Port Development Company (APD) are part of the Island Power Producers consortium, also disclosed that the three remaining partners are all overseas and international firms.

Crowley, the shipping company, will be responsible for transporting the LNG fuel to Arawak Cay and its subsequent offloading. Siemens will supply the generation equipment and manage/operate the plant, while Watts Marine, a specialist in shore power solutions, will deal with the hook-ups for all cruise vessels capable of connecting to it.

Mike Maura, Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive and APD’s chairman, who is also on Island Power Producers’ advisory Board alongside Anthony Ferguson, CFAL’s principal, confirmed the respective roles that Crowley, Siemens and Watts Marine will play in the shore power project.

Watts provides shore power in ports such as San Diego, Seattle, Brooklyn, Long Beach, Vancouver and San Francisco, and Mr Maura said: “Watts will be at the slips interface with the cruise port. Their systems and hardware will plug into the ships. It will be the same for ships that have shore power capability at the Nassau Container Port. Watts operates within 30 feet of the bulkhead.”

He reiterated that the shore power project, which will not only involve offloading LNG at Nassau Container Port but transporting it to the generation plant via a pipeline running underneath the port’s property, will create a new revenue stream for APD that will help to reduce the need for any tariff increases to be imposed on imported goods and services.

“It’s a new cargo source type for APD,” Mr Maura explained. “The beauty of it is, in my view, that it doesn’t have an operational cost for APD. You have LNG moving off the ship, running on a pipeline underneath and moving through APD’s property. APD will collect a toll on that.”

Confirming that the capital raising effort has started, he added: “There have been meetings with institutional investors. We have an ongoing discussion in terms of what the equity raise is going to contribute. Those discussions are well underway. There’s been meetings with pension fund managers, there’s been meetings with other investors. Those talks are ongoing.”

Island Power Producers’ Board includes Charles Farquharson, the former Morton Salt general manager, as well as Mr Butler, CFAL’s manager of corporate advisory services. Apart from Erold Farquharson, a contractor, who is the company’s managing director, all other members of the executive and management team appear to expatriates.

Mr Ferguson, though, told Tribune Business that the Board’s composition was likely to change once the equity raises were completed so that it is more representative of investors and their interests. Island Power Producers, on its website confirmed that it aims to develop a 60 MW natural gas combined cycle power plant.

“Island Power Producers was established to build and operate a state-of-the-art natural gas power plant to provide shore power to cruise ships docked at the Nassau Cruise Port and to supply any excess power to Bahamas Power & Light,” it added. 

Mr Ferguson, in a recent update, told Tribune Business of Island Power Producers: “We have all our permits. We have already started construction work at Arawak Cay. If you go there you will see trucks, offices that have been established. With the cruise port, we expect that generation will be installed by the beginning of the second quarter [2026]. We’re on target for everything. We’re excited for where we’re at.”

CFAL, in the offering documents for its private equity fund, added: “Island Power Producers has been selected by the Government of The Bahamas to develop shore power for the cruise ships while docked at Nassau Cruise Port. The company will build a natural gas power plant along with regasification and storage facilities to supply natural gas to other Family Islands.

“Island Power Producers will be 100 percent owned by Bahamians. The project will be funded with $180m in total investment and is expected to be completed at the end of the 2026 second quarter.”