The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

ARMED government agents have inspected local businesses, and American-registered vessels face forfeiture near Paradise Island—signs of an escalating push by the government to recover lost maritime revenue.

Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis confirmed that the island-to-island compliance sweep is ongoing, targeting marine-based enterprises across the archipelago.

“They continue to work,” he said. “They’re moving from island to island. We think that’s a huge opportunity being spread out. You know, a lot of times you don’t have the proper handle that you should have in terms of a revenue perspective on what is going on in these islands.”

The Maritime Revenue Enforcement Task Force (MRETF), chaired by Commander Bertram Bowleg, was launched in July 2023 to recover delinquent revenue and implement structural safeguards to prevent future losses. In its first three months, it recovered $1.2m.

The task force’s work now spans Bimini, Abaco, the Berry Islands, and the Exuma Cays, with teams reviewing documentation, inspecting sites, and flagging unpaid or underreported dues—particularly from businesses that expanded operations without updated government fees.

“What they’re doing is, they continue to move around, doing compliance and checking—not implementing anything new, but making sure people are operating within the confines of the law,” Mr Halkitis said.

He pointed to scenarios where businesses expanded marinas or other infrastructure without notifying the government.

“For example, someone might, just as an example, built a marina, and over the years, they expanded it. Okay, you expanded—that means more revenue is due to the government for the space that you’re taking up,” he said.

Mr Halkitis said the initiative supports a broader strategy of increasing revenue collection without raising taxes, while also advancing environmental protection goals.

“We have to make sure that the people of The Bahamas are getting a return on that activity through the proper fees, being collected so that we can do things like protection and conservation, etc,” he said.

Commander Bowleg, a veteran of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, leads a task force that includes the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Marine Resources, Bahamas Immigration, Customs, the Port Department, and the Bahamas National Trust.

Though no updated figures were released, officials described early results as promising.

In June 2024, CBS Bahamas said ten agents from the Revenue Enhancement Task Force, some heavily armed, conducted a surprise inspection at its South-West Plaza location—calling the visit an “eye-opening event” that signaled an “increasingly hostile environment for local businesses”

Last week, the maritime task force intercepted five American-registered vessels operating without permits near Paradise Island. Owners were given 30 days to provide valid documentation or risk having their vessels seized.