Freeport must watch Cuba "very carefully" as it expands its tourism product and cruise ship capacity if The Bahamas is to maintain its market share of the cruise ship repair industry, according to top Grand Bahama Shipyard Limited (GBSL) officials.
When asked if an influx of cruise ships to Cuba presented the GBSL an opportunity for new business should cruise lines redirect their ships from other international markets, GBSL CEO Carl-Gustaf Rotkirch told Guardian Business, "It depends a little of course depending on how The Bahamas is responding to the liberalization of business possibilities in Cuba.
"It may also be a threat to us so we need to look very carefully at that point. If Cuba starts developing ship repair that can compete with us, then we have to be on top of that."
U.S. President Barack Obama said in December that the U.S. would strengthen its diplomatic ties with Cuba, prompting a mix of fear and cautious optimism throughout the Bahamian tourism sector over The Bahamas' ability to sustain U.S. visitor numbers in the face of fresh competition.
GBSL board member Giora Israel said that while Cuba did not represent an immediate threat to the GBSL due to its lack of infrastructure, regional pressure from the U.S., Mexico, and potentially Cuba could take a bite out of the GBSL's business, which already faces competition with shipyards as widespread as Palermo, Italy and Singapore.
"With the opening of Cuba, when and if it opens up to [U.S.] travel, then the question is: is there the quality, equipment, and support that has been established in Freeport to provide the same quality of work, especially for the big ships, that currently exists in The Bahamas.
"Every competitor in this business can take a chunk out of our business. We're not worried as a shipyard, but we are concerned. We want to remain competitive, we want to retain the great workforce that we have, and that will ensure that the place of the shipyard will continue," said Israel.

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