The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce’s president yesterday voiced optimism that the planned $100m investment in the Grand Bahama Shipyard will maintain its competitiveness.

Speaking after Carnival Cruise Line, a 40 percent shareholder in the Shipyard, confirmed plans to replace the major dock that collapsed last year, Gregory LaRoda said: “I think that really will keep them competitive in terms of getting the business here, and keeping some of the business they already have in this region and, more specifically, on this island.

“That’s going to speak well in terms of maintaining employment, and probably getting employment back, because I think they did do some adjustments when they lost that dock in terms of employment levels.

“So definitely that will be a positive for the fact that they have decided to go ahead and replace that.”

Giora Israel, Carnival’s senior vice-president of global ports and destination development, recently said the loss of that dock - coupled with another that was damaged by Hurricane Dorian - had left Grand Bahama Shipyard operating at 25 percent capacity.

“We are determined to make this yard again a great yard, possibly bringing it back to the number one cruise ship repair facility in the world,” Mr Israel said then.

“(The dry dock) will be the biggest floating dock to be built in the last decade anywhere in the world, and it’s likely to be built in China.

“We are now in a situation that is obviously not very welcome in Grand Bahama of having the world’s largest cruise ship repair facility really crippled and its production gone down dramatically.” Grand Bahama Shipyard’s shareholders, which include rival cruise line Royal Caribbean with an equal 40 percent stake, and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) with the 20 percent balance, have also shared in the millions of dollars that have been lost as a result.

Hundreds of expatriates have already been laid off and forced to return to their countries. However, Grand Bahama Shipyard has committed to employing all its Bahamian staff on a 40-hour work week even though it could let go about 100 because of the reduced demand.

“We are just sweating it through until we are able to get the operation back,” Mr Israel said. “We have a lot of pressure from shareholders to support our operating expenses, obviously labour, but also our debt servicing for the loans that are outstanding at the yard.”