***Who the hell places 17 people (alleged, 12 certain) in a 27 foot small craft?*** **That Is Criminal**, if even for a short shuttle-ride from one island to another, in good weather. Here we have a Depression with strong winds & waves! In a land of natural mariners?
The smuggler cares not one iota for the immigrant's lives, just pay me & God help you desperate immigrant. The crew/captain/smugglers are the criminals, taking the money & run like cowards that they are. They should be identified in every news piece, no matter who's brother or cousin they may be!!

Congratulations!
The Bahamas Government shortsightedness has officially made cruising Florida & The Florida Keys joyous, even with the high numbers of fellow cruisers.
In Europe & some South American countries do require a departure certificate, but they are for Safety Purposes, to ensure the vessel actually arrived at it's intended destination, particularly where cold rough waters or high criminal activity are common. Neither of these apply to The Bahamas, if there is high smuggling activities, it is being monitored by the joint US Coast Guard, Bahamas & TC Defense Force coordination.
This is basic harassment of a valuable income resource for short term, immediate financial gain; not too different than charging high DutyTax plus a high VATTax. Eventually resource do not return or the overtaxed bite back... think 1776.
Wealthy Americans have no problem spending money when they know it is required, they hate being nickle-&-dime'd by opportunist officials with unregulated undeclared fees... that's graft & 3rd World thinking... remember Venezuela, Cuba & DR once happy cruising fishing destinations, no more.

Why spend money, when government is as interested in cleaning the area up as Equinor.
With enough time the ferns & vegetation will cover it all from sight. Out of sight out of mind is as most governments handle such issues. Oil seeping into groundwater? 'No one here to drink from a well.'
It will get very interesting when in next year's dry season, the bush starts to burn & the oiled ground ignites with no stopping it till all the oil is burned off. 'Just spray it down' with the oily ground water!! Or saltwater.'

It should be interesting to see if Mr.Soon-Shiong will be interested without the aragonite mining or free/cheap property aspects...i.e.: I get the land free & I sell whats below it with only the Excavating/Sifting as overhead. Cant argue with those margins! Will Bahama Rock etc accept a competitor? Will Bahamians agree to shipping out their island, piece by piece?
It is a renewalble resource, only in geologic time.

This North Andros Green Free Trade Zone is most certainly a fools pipe dream, things to consider:
1. How can you expect to change the high volume natural tidal flow of the North West Passage area between Andros & Chub Cay, this with no ramifications to North Andros & The Berrys? Water moves where ever it wants.
2. The volume of rock-fill to create this North Andros barrier island & port for the purpose of aragonite mining will come from where?
3. The aragonite market is low, this is why the mine project south of Cat Cay went bust.
4. Most importantly, why reinvent the wheel in N Andros, one that you already have in Freeport? Invest in GB, where you already have the infrastructure, airports, homes & people. Is it because you are not getting cooperation from GBPA? or because these advantages are more expensive than starting from scratch in N Andros, where you may convince govt to give away loads of property for a little cash & a half-hearted dream?
Bahamians are tired of half hearted dreams, the land is scarred with many.
5. Another selling of Bahamas' valued resources, their actual islands. Whats next their kids?

Since conch larvae young float in the currents for their early months. Here is a surface currents map indicating how important that breeding stock is to half of the Bahamas, https://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/c…
It also shows how these will take any Oil Spill to the same areas.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/…
Don't screw around with Mother Nature, she has a mean temper!

Well, this Bahamian investor has made it painfully obvious what he values in The Bahamas, certainly not the magical waters & unique marine ecology, another $$$ worshiping individual willing to make money over protecting what YOU have for your grandchildren!
Must have been on another planet when the BP Horizon sank. Lets hope this endeavor follows the Cuban/Chinese experience as a dry hole, there is a reason the drillers are called Wildcat Gamblers. Let the world know who he/they are, he deserves the notoriety.

Quit talking, send $1 to Hutchison Whampoa for a yearly lease & take over the airport.
You are a government, so act like one that recognizes when an organization is operating in a manner harmful to your nation's economy & people. No need to use the military's new firepower. China will not intercede, (remember Grenada?)

Any worthy interested foreign investor will understand.

This will send the message to PA principals to act or loose it!

Does this mean the consumer has % ownership of the poles & new wires in the distribution network he is paying for? Can't repair a broken pole, its replaced with a new one.
If yes, then this time next year Emera must rent my poles & wires that I have paid for. PS: Wont be a cheap rental !!!
If public is paying for the repairs to poles & wires, then that % is public owned; a LONG roundabout way to make the utilities public.

Not to minimize the complaint against slow government actions.
There are some common sense matters in this reoccurring cause-effect situation.

Queens Cove would not be prone to such common devastating flooding if the natural tidal flow & small boat traffic was allowed thru a free-flowing waterway at the Fishing Hole causeway, which the Port will not allow due to fear of mud/sand filling in their port water depths. All ports in the world require periodic dredging. The new bridge should have been higher, future ones must be.

Water will always seek a path of least resistance, when that is not available it will stack up & overflow everything in it's way. The natural tidal "creeks" (like Fishing Hole) we commonly see throughout the island chain are pressure relief valves (as you have on your water heater) to prevent massive flooding when storms come by. The more you have the safer you are.
'Granted, the situation with Dorian's slow pace, amount of wind & rain, caused havoc on the existing cross-island waterway & thus would have done the same with Queens Cove.

Reclaimed land from dredging canals & waterways, such as Queens Cove, must also be built up with adequate height above the normal high water levels. In the 1960's seawall height of 4-5' was considered appropriate. With the advent of Climate Change this has to change also, as Miami Beach & Fort Lauderdale are facing right now, at a cost of multiple billions.