Nassau, Bahamas - The following is a submitted statement on behalf of Bradley Roberts, National Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party. This statement is in response to comments attributed to Minister Earl Deveaux at a recent maritime conference about our ship registry.

The Progressive Liberal Party notes that Minister Earl Deveaux in a recent address to the Bahamas Maritime Conference and Trade Show in Freeport disclosed that the Government plans to create a mega-yacht registry for the Bahamas which could bring in millions of direct revenue. Minister Deveaux told the delegates “The Bahamas has a vibrant and growing maritime sector; we have the third largest registered fleet in the world with more than 52 million tones of very diverse ships”. The Minister continued that “the maritime sector is increasing and it now represents approximately 20 percent of our national economy. The Bahamas Maritime Authority has been an Industry leader in meeting the challenges and administering one of the world’s finest international registries”.

The claim of being the third largest registered fleet in the world has been challenged by the Marshall Islands officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. This nation has a population of roughly 62,000 people. The details of the Marshall Islands Claim are outlined hereunder. If true, clearly Minister Deveaux is out of touch and is obliged to explain to the Bahamian people why the Bahamas has lost its prestigious number three ranking it has held for years. We note that the BMA has five (5) offices compared with twenty (20) worldwide offices of the Marshall Islands. The Minister should also explain the basis of his assertion that the Maritime sector represents approximately 20 percent of the Bahamas’ economy. Are we to assume that the maritime sector now rivals or has eclipsed our second economic pillar, Financial Services, in terms of sheer size, labour provisions, salaries, and contributions to the national treasury?

MARSHALL ISLANDS NOW RANKED AS 3RD LARGEST OPEN REGISTRY

The Marshall Islands Registry moved into position as the world’s third largest open registry with more than 52.3 million gross tons and 2,102 registered vessels. The World Fleet Monitor*, published by Clarkson Research Services, ranked the Marshall Islands as third in its January 2010 launch issue. According to the prestigious publication, the Marshall Islands was also the fastest growing of the top four registries last year. The Registry, which is administered by International Registries, Inc. (IRI), attributes its success to the continued decentralization of registry services to its 20 worldwide offices, its client service ethos and the fact that it continues to post top safety and environmental scores with global port States.

To that end, the Marshall Islands Registry remains the only major open registry to be included on the US Coast Guard’s Qualship 21 roster for four years in a row. The Registry also maintains its white list status on both the Paris and Tokyo MoUs. Clarkson’s also notes in the World Fleet Monitor that the Marshall Islands has the youngest fleet among the top ten registries.

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