The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

MEDITERRANEAN Shipping Company (MSC) executives yesterday said $300m has been invested to-date in transforming Ocean Cay from an "industrial site into paradise", with close to 130 Bahamians to be employed.

The Swiss-headquartered global shipping giant, and fast-growing cruise line operator, said its new private cruise port and marine park near Bimini is set to welcome its first guests on November 9 this year.

A delegation of senior MSC executives met yesterday with the Prime Minister and other Cabinet members to discuss the project's final stages, with the company pledging that 90 percent of the 140 full-time posts - including assistant general manager - will be filled by Bahamians.

Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises' executive chairman, said the cruise line was "already a very important partner for The Bahamas" due to its presence in Freeport since 1997 as the main customer for - and shareholder in - the Freeport Container Port.

He added that MSC had generated $500m in revenues for The Bahamas as a result of being that port's leading transhipment operator. Turning to MSC's cruise business, Mr Vago said: "We have not only 16 ships in operation of the latest generation but we have 13 ships on order, and that will allow us to grow more in North America and The Bahamas.

"We are not just a North American operator but last year we hosted in excess of 190 different nationalities on board. We are truly a global player. This will help put The Bahamas on the map globally as a touristic destination."

MSC added that Ocean Cay has been transformed to "immerse guests in the natural beauty of their surroundings" through a redevelopment that is intended to exceed the highest environmental regulatory standards.

This work has been overseen by independent experts, with more than 330 Bahamians currently working in construction to prepare Ocean Cay to welcome its first guests. Ninety per cent, or 126 of the 140 staff working on Ocean Cay, will be Bahamian with some 10-15 expatriate hires, according to MSC executives.

Mr Vago said MSC had "'recreated" Ocean Cay, which had been contaminated and filled with waste material, into a tourist destination. He voiced optimism that Dr Hubert Minnis "was very pleased with our presentation" yesterday morning, and said: "This is a work in progress. We talked to the Prime Minister about a future vision, things we can do on the island. There will be more investments to come. The journey is in progress."

From November 2019, all MSC Cruises sailing from Miami will call at Ocean Cay as part of their Caribbean itineraries. The cay will receive a total of 130 calls from MSC cruise ships in 2020 amounting to 500,000 guests. MSC Cruises also expects to perform an additional 23 calls to Nassau, and a further three on Freeport, amounting to adding a further 12,000 guests.

MSC signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) for the Ocean Cay project with the Christie administration in 2015. They took over the man-made island, which has traditionally been used for industrial purposes from the Sandy Cay Development Company and its principal, Tony Myers, who had held a lease for sand and aragonite mining.

Ocean Cay was also proposed as the site for AES Corporation's liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal and pipeline - a project that never proceeded because no approvals were forthcoming from the Bahamian government. The island is situated 20 miles south of Bimini and only 65 miles east of Miami, Florida.