NEW CHARGES FOR THE BAHAMAS

[AndrewJ]

BOATUS just published an article which stated that cruising permits for the Bahamas is now going to cost USD 300.00 for boats over 35' (Used to be $10.00).this permit will be valid as long as you stay in their waters, if you leave and come back again, it will cost another $300.00. The customs clearance used to be (as recently as 1999)$ 50.00. The email address for the bahamas conptroller of customs is "COFROLLE@BATELNET.BS" if you feel the urge to write this individual, or wish to avoid the Bahamas, who main income is tourists..

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[AndrewB]

Anything new happened?

We had a couple of threads about this back in July, started by kgi, when this charge was introduced.

Have there been any new developments?

 

[AndrewJ]

Re: Anything new happened?

Just what I posted. I just received the info in a BOATUS magazine, along with new procedures in Florida for clearing customs. It will be interesting to see if the ministry of tourism in the Bahamas reads the handwriting on the wall. I sent him an email telling him I had planned to go there but will bypass the Bahamas as both a tourist and a boater.

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[AndrewB]

Re: Anything new happened?

But what you posted wasn't new. It's always sensible to do a 'Search' first before making this sort of posting. No harm in starting a new thread on a subject, though, if you want to add something to what has been said.

The concensus on the US boards seems to be that the Bahamas authorities are unlikely to be concerned by the sort of email you propose. By anyone's standards the Bahamas have been desperately overcrowded with visiting yachts in recent years, with a good deal of environmental impact. Charging a bomb to enter will not only raise money but deter precisely those boaters unlikely to be staying long or spending a lot ("contributing to the local economy") during their visit. The one place that might suffer is Bimini, since it will deter long-weekenders from Florida.

It won't be clear what impact this policy has had until after the hurricane season. There has been some talk of a review early next year but unless the effect on numbers has been far greater than forecast, anything more than fine-tuning seems unlikely. I think we can expect several other Caribbean countries to follow suit, when the results are clear.

 

[Twister_Ken]

I'm not well versed in this sort of thing, but isn't this somewhat similar to what the Greeks did recently - upping costs and bureaucracy, then sitting in the quayside wondering why all the yachts had effed off to Turkey?

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[kgi]

Re: Anything new happened?

This is precisely what has happened, in the short term bimini sands and bimini big game club are reporting a drop in revenue of between40 and 60%, its sad its come to this, its a peice of misguided legislation that was aimed at the sport fishing boats that come over from florida and fish the place to death, a lot of them don't even clear in and party all weekend in honeymoon harbour and then go home coolers stuffed with fish!!! are we suprised that the bahamas govt took action?, course not, its just a real bugger that us cruising boats got caught by the charges, the downside could be that all the other island nations follow suit, that will make a carribean cruise very expensive indeed, as you virtually daysail between countries. the acid test i think will be how many cruising boats turn up in georgetown, exuma this winter....we can only wait and see.......keith

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