Members of Parliament spent a portion of the morning dealing with the debacle with Independent MP Pierre Dupuch saying that the House was essentially involved in “legal and intellectual masturbation.”
Opposition Leader Alvin Smith demanded that government officials explain why the fishing boats were still in The Bahamas, two weeks after the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries told parliament that they would be removed from The Bahamas “forthwith.”
Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham added that, “There are a number of difficulties which the government is faced with in getting these boats out of the country and it is my hope that the government will give the matter thoughtful consideration.”
Springing to the government’s defense, Attorney General Alfred Sears told the House that, “To my knowledge and information, 15 ships or boats was the subject of a notice of seizure which was served by the customs department on the 26th of November. The boats are under the jurisdiction of the controller of Customs…we are presently reviewing the matter.”
Minister Sears said the government must ensure that the legal architecture is in place to ensure that the Bahamian fishing industry is protected.
Earlin Williams, the principal shareholder of Netsiwill Holdings Limited, the Bahamian company at the centre of the recent fishing controversy, said in an interview with the Bahama Journal that he has addressed irregularities that led to the withdrawal of registration certificates for 15 fishing boats.
Mr. Williams also said that the $2.5 million mortgage for the boats has been reassigned to his company. Korean investors had owned the mortgage.
Mr. Williams said that Netsiwill will soon re-submit its business proposal to the relevant authorities. He added that the boats are now fully owned by Netsiwill, including a 16th ship, which houses a fish processing plant.
Mr. Ingraham said this particular boat is clearly against all Bahamian laws that relate to fishing in the country. He said it was a separate matter from the original 15 boats.
Independent Member of Parliament Tennyson Wells said there has been a lot of hypocrisy in the country as it relates to fishing.
“This particular case was handled improperly from the beginning,” Mr. Wells said. “If your are to believe what you read in the press, many, many heads should roll and it appears to me that the leadership in the government should get to the bottom of it…Clearly the public is getting a lot of double talk. Something is wrong, and if we are not careful, it is going to get out of hand.”
Meanwhile, a release from the Department of Customs today said that the 15 fishing boats at Morgan’s Bluff, Andros and the fish processing ship ‘Otori’ at Freeport, Grand Bahama – vessels purported to be of Korean origin – are all in the possession of The Bahamas Department of Customs.
“The vessels may not be moved or interfered with in any way without the express permission of the Department,” the release said. “All 16 vessels are expected to leave Bahamian waters in the due course of the law after the completion of logistical arrangements for their removal from the jurisdiction of The Bahamas.”
On Tuesday, Mr. Williams declined to go into details about the reassignment of the mortgage, but he said his company will soon make another presentation to the relevant government authorities.
“There is no mortgage attached to my vessels and I own the vessels 100 percent outright,” Mr. Williams said. ” The question as it relates to Bahamian ownership is now in the past and we expect, we anticipate that the relevant statute laws on fisheries operations will apply.”
But there could be more delays ahead for Netsiwill’s ambitious commercial fishing project.
Minister of State for Finance James Smith whose ministry has responsibility for the Customs Department said on Tuesday that he was unaware of Mr. Williams’ revised position and said that the government is moving ahead with plans to have the 16 impounded vessels removed from The Bahamas.
“Customs would have from the government instructions not to release the vessels; not to accept any payments of duty because as of now the government’s position is the vessels should leave The Bahamas because they aggravate the government’s policy regarding fishing, ” Mr. Smith said.
He added that steps are being taken to ensure that that mandate is being carried out.
Mr. Smith also said that to his knowledge, “nothing has changed” to the position taken before Prime Minister Perry Christie’s ten-day trip to the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Nigeria and a Caribbean Basin Initiative Forum in Florida.
Mr. Christie is expected to return to The Bahamas tonight.
Last month, controversy erupted over the fishing venture with angry reaction from fishermen in Andros.
The imbroglio was further complicated with calls for the resignation of some Cabinet Ministers by the country’s principal opposition party, the Free National Movement.
Former BAIC chairman Sidney Stubbs tendered his resignation in parliament following an address by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries V. Alfred Gray who maintained that full details of the ownership of the Korean boats were never revealed.
By Julian Reid, The Bahama Journal
