Bahamas Looking to Capitalize on “Billion-Dollar” Shipwreck Industry

By: - March 30th, 2011

The Bahamian government is looking to cash in on what, according to experts in Florida, could be a billion-dollar industry with an amendment to the country’s Abandoned Wreck Act. “We are being told it could be a billion-dollar industry if properly policed and managed,” said Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Charles Maynard. “A lot of people have been trying to present any number of scenarios to us, but we are confident with the Florida experts’ estimations.” Maynard said the government had faith that there were hundreds of wreckages in Bahamian waters, artifacts from which regularly appear in museums around the world.

Indeed, we’ve managed to find the top wreck diving sites around the Caribbean.

Bahamas

David Smith to Plead Guilty to $220M Fraud in Orlando Federal Court

David Smith, who led the failed investment scheme OLINT, will plead guilty to 23 charges in Orlando federal court. Smith, who began OLINT in Jamaican until moving it to Turks and Caicos (where he pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges last year), described OLINT as a private investment club that pooled investors’ money in […]

Bahamas

Ingraham Leads Bahamian Investment Delegation on Canada Visit

A Bahamian delegation of public officials and private investors led by Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham is on its way to Canada to find opportunities for investment in the country, Ingraham announced Friday at a press conference. “I don’t want to raise hopes of what may or may not happen,” Ingraham said. “The Canadians are very […]

Bahamas

Cayman, IRS Meet on U.S. Foreign Tax Compliance Statute

Cayman Premier McKeeva Bush Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush led a Cayman delegation to meet with the United States Internal Revenue Service’s Deputy Commissioner, Michael Danilack, along with other senior officials to discuss implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. The meeting was a “fact-finding mission in order to gain a clearer understanding of […]

Nassau's Graycliff: A Caribbean Mecca Becomes a Luxury Empire

 On a quiet street in Old Nassau, a 17th-century manor is the home of one of the Caribbean’s most vibrant entrepreneurial spirits. Owner Enrico Garzaroli has turned the former mansion of pirate John Howard Graysmith into a global brand, with the world’s third-biggest wine cellar, a robust cigar factory and a new chain of airport […]

Richard Lightbourn Talks Bahamian Law, the Privy Council and Foreign Investment

 By Alexander Britell Richard Lightbourn is a partner at McKinney, Bancroft and Hughes, the landmark Nassau law firm. Current Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham was a law clerk at the firm, and his predecessor, Perry Christie, committed his pupilage at the firm. Lightbourn graduated from the London School of Economics and the University of London, and […]

New Ferry Connects Bimini, Miami

 On a quiet street in Old Nassau, a 17th-century manor is the home of one of the Caribbean’s most vibrant entrepreneurial spirits. Owner Enrico Garzaroli has turned the former mansion of pirate John Howard Graysmith into a global brand, with the world’s third-biggest wine cellar, a robust cigar factory and a new chain of airport […]

Trinidad, Ghana Partner on Natural Gas

 Trinidad and Tobago’s state-run National Gas Company has been tapped by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation to supply energy for power plants in Ghana. “NGC is breaking new ground as it is the first state company to be extending its services and expertise beyond our shores,” said Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, Trinidad’s energy minister. According to Ghanaian […]