The Tribune

INTERNATIONAL news has been coming to the doorstep of The Bahamas in recent times – and not in a good way.

The loss of the submersible Titan as it descended on an exploration mission to the Titanic caught the world’s attention – and it soon emerged there were Bahamian connections to the company behind the project.

A subsidiary company of OceanGate, OceanGate Expeditions, is registered here, testing was carried out in Bahamian waters – and the company’s website boasted of links to two organisations based here in The Bahamas, both of which later said those links never developed further.

We are not alone, it seems, in some of those connections being exaggerated – the company talked of the submersible being built with the assistance of groups such as Boeing, the University of Washington and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Each of those has since said their involvement was more limited than suggested by OceanGate.

The University of Washington has said it was not involved in the design, engineering or testing of the submersible, Boeing has said it was not a partner and did not design or build it, while NASA confirmed it consulted on an agreement but did not conduct testing or manufacturing through either its workforce or its facilities.

This is the second international story with Bahamian connections to have captured the world’s attention in recent times – the other being the collapse of the crypto company FTX.

A new allegation in that case has seen a suggestion made that a former Bahamian government official was offered a $1m bonus to expedite licences for FTX to operate in The Bahamas.

This claim comes from John Ray, head of those remaining parts of FTX that are in bankruptcy protection in the US. Mr Ray has been outspoken on issues surrounding FTX in the past, sometimes climbing down from claims he has made, and he suggests no wrongdoing by the government official in this case. It appears the business licence he referred to may actually be the licences and permits granted by the Securities Commission. Allyson Maynard-Gibson, FTX’s Bahamas attorney, said her firm does not comment on any client nor any matter connected with any client.

What is the common theme in these stories? Simply that when claims are made, they should be properly examined.

OceanGate’s claims of partnerships appear to have been overblown – for whatever reason, perhaps to lend an authenticity to the company that it otherwise did not possess. Bahamian organisations may have been used while reaching out genuinely. But there are other questions – for example, Titan was supposed to be running tours here in The Bahamas too. What safety checks and approvals were given by The Bahamas?

And equally for the allegations raised by FTX’s US head, those need to be checked too. Are they genuine, what were the payments for, and were all such matters handled appropriately.

Not all claims are true, but all claims deserve to be properly inspected.

This is especially true when, such as in the FTX case, a number of articles questioned our nation’s reputation, sometimes on the flimsiest of reasoning.

Either way, though, serious claims and allegations deserve thorough investigation. That is the best way to protect our nation’s reputation.

Beach access

A sign on the beach at Goodman’s Bay caught the attention this week. It said that only guests could access some beach areas next to the resort. It had disappeared by yesterday.

Goldwynn has been quick to say that the sign “will be corrected”. So, a mistake rather than mischief, perhaps.

Still, the response from the Bahamian public has made sure that a close eye will be kept on any further changes at the development. Of that, Goldwynn can be sure.