The Tribune

BY NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE ASSOCIATION of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president yesterday voiced concern that a new 25-boat slip marina to be located just west of Potter’s Cay will create “over congestion” in both Nassau Harbour and for road-based traffic.

Peter Maury spoke out after it was revealed that Blu Cay Ltd is seeking environmental and other permits to proceed with the development of a marina and 50-space dry storage facility for jet skis and other watercraft.

The plans also include an office building featuring a cafe plus on-site parking, with the project set to be located between the harbourtfront Water & Sewerage Corporation facility and Potter’s Cay, west of McKenzie’s. It will be opposite the East Bay Street shopping centre.

“The proposed works include the construction and operation of a 25-slip marina, a 50-space dry storage area for personal watercraft (jet skis), and an associated multi-purpose office building,” an environmental study by Bahamian consultancy, JSS Consulting, revealed. “The office building will consist of administrative offices, public restrooms and a café to serve marina users and visitors. The development will also include an on-site parking facility to accommodate staff and patrons.”

Blu Cay Ltd’s shareholders and owners are not disclosed in corporate records held by the companies registry at the Registrar General’s Department. The company is active, and was formed in January 2025 by Christopher Francis, who appears to be an attorney and partner at the Baycourt Chambers law firm. Two legal secretaries, Christine C. Francis and R. Clarissia Sweeting, are named as the initial subscribers for its shares.

Mr Maury, who operates Bay Street Marina, denied that he sees the Blu Cay Ltd project as direct competition for himself. However, he argued that its chosen location at the entrance to Potter’s Cay, with vehicles entering and exiting on to East Bay Street, will only add to traffic congestion that peaks every Tuesday when mail boats heading to the Family Islands load and offload goods.

“Potter’s Cay is a disaster now,” Mr Maury argued. “I don’t know how they are going to work that out. Come down on a Tuesday. All day the traffic is backed up. It’s just insane. They are just going to add to the congestion.

“They are going to add another marina. They are just going to over-congest everything. Right now, Potter’s Cay can’t handle what it has, and they will have to dredge out that whole sandbank.

“As far as what I am doing, I don’t see it as competition for me. But what I do so it doing is turning the traffic into a nightmare,” he continued. “With what’s going on at Potter’s Cay, the traffic on Tuesday is backed up on East Bay Street all the way into down.

“Everyone is trying to get down one lane. They have to design an inter-change to deal with the traffic. It’s a matter of congestion. It doesn’t make sense in terms of traffic patterns for downtown Nassau.”

Mr Maury contrasted Blu Cay Ltd’s project with the treatment he received from the Government over his bid to lease land and waterfront for a Nassau Harbour marina and parking lot project which would have been located close to the foot of the Sir Sidney Poitier Bridge serving Paradise Island - just west of this new marina.

He is now locked in a multi-million Supreme Court legal battle with the Government over the lease dispute, and said yesterday that he tried to lease part of the Water & Sewerage Corporation property for parking but was rejected by the Minnis administration.

“I tried to lease that as part of the parking when I wanted to put in a marina, and they denied me,” Mr Maury said. “I did a whole design for it, a whole proposal at the east of the plant for parking. That was for a small marina. Now they are going to add another marina. We were going to use that as parking for the boats taking people over to Paradise Island.”

The JSS Consulting report confirmed that Blu Cay Ltd’s marina is targeted at a location featuring a number of sunken and derelict boats, and which has already been impacted by human activity. It revealed, though, that dredging will be required for the marina basin.

“The assessed area consisted of a coastal marine ecosystem. Marine scope of works for the project includes the construction of a timber dock marina, one multi-purpose building complex and dredging of the marina basin,” the environmental study said.

“During the preliminary site assessment, it was determined that the area designated for the proposed mult-purpose building had been previously cleared and disturbed. Because of this, construction activities for the building will be limited primarily to site preparation and ground works prior to the commencement of vertical construction…. The impact this project will incur is considered to be low risk to the surrounding environment.”

Providing more details, the JSS Consulting study said: “The new timber dock marina piles will be driven using a hammer drill and a crane mounted on a barge. Posts will be installed in the socket within the line and level of the dock. A carpenter crew will be used to install the wooden beam to the timber post using the permanent bolts.

“Mechanical dredging is the proposed method of dredging. Works will commence from the seaside and will be executed utilising an excavator mounted on a crane barge. The excavator barge will operate within the marina basin and manoevere as required to complete the dredging works safely and efficiently. The area will be dredged approximately five feet during low tide. Dredge material will be collected, loaded into dump trucks, and transported to the New Providence Ecology Park for disposal.”