Published On:Monday, May 09, 2011
By ALISON LOWE
Source: The tribune
Business Reporter
alowe@tribunemedia.net
The Bahamas Maritime Authority's (BMA) success in growing this nation's shipping registry, and paying dividends to the Government, should be viewed as an incentive for other public corporations/agencies to be given the same semi-autonomous status, its chairman has argued.
Ian Fair said that as a statutory corporation the BMA is a "very effective model" for how other government entities could be operated, having returned dividends to the Government "in excess of $50 million (in 16 years), and all with a staff of 75".
"The Government wanted the BMA to operate as a private sector entity, and the model has worked very effectively. I would submit it is an excellent example for other entities.
"It had sat under the Ministry of Transport for many years until it was formalised in 1995, and it's just been a huge success. We've returned a lot of money to the Government in dividends, but we are also able to use our own resources for the good of the Bahamas as well in various aspects. We don't have to worry about going cap in hand to the Government to raise money," said Mr Fair, adding that he believes the Government "should not be in the business of doing business".
He was addressing the Rotary Club of East Nassau on Friday at the Nassau Yacht Club.
Mr Fair said that today the Bahamas is a "significant player" in the "open register" business, which allows owners whose principal place of business is not in a particular country to register their vessel here.
Open -egister registration is growing in popularity, suggested Mr Fair, noting that the number of vessels attached to "open registers" has grown in 10 years from 30 per cent to over 50 per cent.
As the third largest ship registry in the world, this nation presently has some 1,650 vessels on its register with a gross tonnage of more than 53 million tons. The Bahamas has the largest number of cruise ships on its register of any country, although these in fact only make up 11 per cent of its overall numbers.
Because contributions to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are based on the tonnage attached to one's register, the Bahamas makes a greater contribution than much larger and more developed countries, such as the US or the UK, at $1.1 million a year, noted the chairman.
Mr Fair, who summarised the BMA's role as to register vessels, enforce ship safety requirements and constantly monitor and improve standards in sector, told the Rotary group that he could "tell you with some pride that we punch well above our weight" in global shipping fora.
"We have a powerful voice in world shipping and have the abiliy to influence the development of policies and legislation both nationally and on the international stage," he added.
Mr Fair said the BMA is constantly looking for ways to grow its business and seek new revenue streams for the Bahamas in the maritime industry.
In this regard, the Bahamas' yacht registry is now up and running, with regulations having been established allowing it to be opened to the public "within the last month", said Mr Fair.
The yacht registry "complements our overall offering and enhances the profile of our nation," he suggested.
"From a concentration on the large ship sector, we now realise our wealthy financial services clients might want to have a 'one-stop shop' for their financial assets and their leisure assets. We are continually looking at ways to further develop our business model, not only to service our existing customers but also to attract new business.
We're not expecting a flood of registrants in the first year but it had to be one of the offerings we gave."
Meanwhile, having opened a BMA office in Hong Kong last year, Mr Fair said the office - which has three staff and a Bahamian registrar - has been bearing fruit. Mr Fair said he expects the Hong Kong office will also be "an outlet for other Bahamas offerings".
The BMA is now hoping to establish the conditions which would enable the Hong Kong office to go out and seek to do business with China.
"We've got our staff (in Hong Kong) and they are out knocking on doors. Our Bahamian registrar is there doing business already; she's already done some closings and we're very happy," said Mr Fair.
"We're going to be in Beijing and Hong Kong in June. Having established an office in Hong Kong, we can't actually start marketing in China until such time as we present our credentials to the government, so it's a formal visit to the ministries and, hopefully, because of the relationship the Bahamas has with China they may open a few doors for us."
The BMA is also looking to expand its reach further into Europe by establishing a "long overdue" full office in Greece later this year in an effort to capture more business. Forty per cent of ship owners on the Bahamian registry are from Greece, Norway and the UK.
"They (the Greeks) are the largest ship owning group by far. It's a major maritime nation, and the Bahamas has such close ties to Greece already. We've got a Greek diaspora in the Bahamas; we can build on that," said Mr Fair.
He also heaped praise on present director of the BMA, former defence force commander, Davy Rolle. A "great success" during his time as chairman was the appointment of a Bahamian director, after years in which the post was held by British nationals who were not greatly "exposed" to the Bahamas and, while diligent, saw the post as a "job".
"Having a Bahamian, Davy Rolle, has been a huge step forward. The level of diligence and commitment he's given to this organisation, I can't begin to tell you. He called me at 12.45am the other day from his office because he was putting together stuff for our next Board meeting. And this is not a young man; he's a former commander of the Defence Force. He's doing a great job," said Mr Fair. Given that shipping is the primary facilitator of world trade, it is by and large a stable industry with numerous opportunities for growth.
Short of a "massive economic contraction", Mr Fair said the primary threat to the continued growth of the maritime industry was piracy, such as that which is currently prevalent in the seas off the Horn of Africa and Somalia.
By ALISON LOWE
Source: The tribune
Business Reporter
alowe@tribunemedia.net
The Bahamas Maritime Authority's (BMA) success in growing this nation's shipping registry, and paying dividends to the Government, should be viewed as an incentive for other public corporations/agencies to be given the same semi-autonomous status, its chairman has argued.
Ian Fair said that as a statutory corporation the BMA is a "very effective model" for how other government entities could be operated, having returned dividends to the Government "in excess of $50 million (in 16 years), and all with a staff of 75".
"The Government wanted the BMA to operate as a private sector entity, and the model has worked very effectively. I would submit it is an excellent example for other entities.
"It had sat under the Ministry of Transport for many years until it was formalised in 1995, and it's just been a huge success. We've returned a lot of money to the Government in dividends, but we are also able to use our own resources for the good of the Bahamas as well in various aspects. We don't have to worry about going cap in hand to the Government to raise money," said Mr Fair, adding that he believes the Government "should not be in the business of doing business".
He was addressing the Rotary Club of East Nassau on Friday at the Nassau Yacht Club.
Mr Fair said that today the Bahamas is a "significant player" in the "open register" business, which allows owners whose principal place of business is not in a particular country to register their vessel here.
Open -egister registration is growing in popularity, suggested Mr Fair, noting that the number of vessels attached to "open registers" has grown in 10 years from 30 per cent to over 50 per cent.
As the third largest ship registry in the world, this nation presently has some 1,650 vessels on its register with a gross tonnage of more than 53 million tons. The Bahamas has the largest number of cruise ships on its register of any country, although these in fact only make up 11 per cent of its overall numbers.
Because contributions to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are based on the tonnage attached to one's register, the Bahamas makes a greater contribution than much larger and more developed countries, such as the US or the UK, at $1.1 million a year, noted the chairman.
Mr Fair, who summarised the BMA's role as to register vessels, enforce ship safety requirements and constantly monitor and improve standards in sector, told the Rotary group that he could "tell you with some pride that we punch well above our weight" in global shipping fora.
"We have a powerful voice in world shipping and have the abiliy to influence the development of policies and legislation both nationally and on the international stage," he added.
Mr Fair said the BMA is constantly looking for ways to grow its business and seek new revenue streams for the Bahamas in the maritime industry.
In this regard, the Bahamas' yacht registry is now up and running, with regulations having been established allowing it to be opened to the public "within the last month", said Mr Fair.
The yacht registry "complements our overall offering and enhances the profile of our nation," he suggested.
"From a concentration on the large ship sector, we now realise our wealthy financial services clients might want to have a 'one-stop shop' for their financial assets and their leisure assets. We are continually looking at ways to further develop our business model, not only to service our existing customers but also to attract new business.
We're not expecting a flood of registrants in the first year but it had to be one of the offerings we gave."
Meanwhile, having opened a BMA office in Hong Kong last year, Mr Fair said the office - which has three staff and a Bahamian registrar - has been bearing fruit. Mr Fair said he expects the Hong Kong office will also be "an outlet for other Bahamas offerings".
The BMA is now hoping to establish the conditions which would enable the Hong Kong office to go out and seek to do business with China.
"We've got our staff (in Hong Kong) and they are out knocking on doors. Our Bahamian registrar is there doing business already; she's already done some closings and we're very happy," said Mr Fair.
"We're going to be in Beijing and Hong Kong in June. Having established an office in Hong Kong, we can't actually start marketing in China until such time as we present our credentials to the government, so it's a formal visit to the ministries and, hopefully, because of the relationship the Bahamas has with China they may open a few doors for us."
The BMA is also looking to expand its reach further into Europe by establishing a "long overdue" full office in Greece later this year in an effort to capture more business. Forty per cent of ship owners on the Bahamian registry are from Greece, Norway and the UK.
"They (the Greeks) are the largest ship owning group by far. It's a major maritime nation, and the Bahamas has such close ties to Greece already. We've got a Greek diaspora in the Bahamas; we can build on that," said Mr Fair.
He also heaped praise on present director of the BMA, former defence force commander, Davy Rolle. A "great success" during his time as chairman was the appointment of a Bahamian director, after years in which the post was held by British nationals who were not greatly "exposed" to the Bahamas and, while diligent, saw the post as a "job".
"Having a Bahamian, Davy Rolle, has been a huge step forward. The level of diligence and commitment he's given to this organisation, I can't begin to tell you. He called me at 12.45am the other day from his office because he was putting together stuff for our next Board meeting. And this is not a young man; he's a former commander of the Defence Force. He's doing a great job," said Mr Fair. Given that shipping is the primary facilitator of world trade, it is by and large a stable industry with numerous opportunities for growth.
Short of a "massive economic contraction", Mr Fair said the primary threat to the continued growth of the maritime industry was piracy, such as that which is currently prevalent in the seas off the Horn of Africa and Somalia.
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