Family Islanders are facing a supply shortage as mailboat owners and operators move to suspend inter-island transport.
Only two of 15 mailboats in the government subsidized fleet, the Bahamas Daybreak and the Eleuthera Express, continued regular scheduled operations yesterday.
The strike has been organized by the Mailboat Owners and Operators Association, who are demanding immediate government assistance primarily due to the rising cost of diesel fuel.
While no formal statement has been issued from the association, individual mailboat captains have told a local newspaper that the disruption is a desperate attempt to bring government’s attention to a critical and growing issue.
Mailboat service is vital to those living in the Family Islands, many whom depend on the fleet to bring perishables from Nassau that on a weekly basis.
Out-Island distributors are concerned. Their goods were refused by mailboats yesterday.
Mailboats are subsidized by the government for the transport of goods to the out islands. The inter-island transport system is the sole provider to most of the supermarkets on those islands.
