The Bahamas' maritime industry is one that Bahamians need to take greater ownership in, as it has already brought millions into the country. Minister of the Environment Earl Deveaux believes Bahamians need to become more captivated by the opportunities in the maritime sector, if The Bahamas is going to successfully compete on the global stage.

He told Guardian Business that although Bahamians are deeply involved, the maritime industry remains dispersed.

"Bahamians are fishing, operating inter-island mail boats like Bahamas Fast Ferries and are members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF)," according to Deveaux.

The environment minister said educating young people at the school level is critical.  He is hoping to close the gap by providing more training opportunities for youngsters.

"When they start at the age of 14 or 15, there needs to an opportunity for absolute continuity.  Once they have graduated from high school and you're qualified, then there should be an opportunity to get on board a ship.  The rest should then flow relatively easy," Deveaux said.

"We don't have that level of exposure in hardly anything that we do expect for tourism and banking.  But I am talking about something bigger, where Bahamians would be trained in groups ranging from 10 through 50, to take over categories of service on cruise ships.
"Through these types of programs, a Bahamian team of engineers can get certified so they can be marine pilots or take over the captainship of one of the big cruise ships."

With The Bahamas being an archipelagic nation, Deveaux remains adamant that there is no excuse as to why eastern European countries can specialize in training for maritime-based careers and not The Bahamas.

Through the Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA), ship registration and certification has resulted in $80 million being generated for the country. Deveaux pointed out that global shipping is one of the biggest industries in the world - 80 percent of the world's goods and services are moved by sea.

For instance, one local company that operates 15 ships has 2,000 people working onboard the ships, and none of them are Bahamian.

"If we got five percent of the country's labor force on Bahamian-registered yachts, in one year, BMA's contributions would have been exceeded," Deveaux revealed.

"The need for captains, engineers, ship handlers, mechanics and forklift operators is great.  Everything that takes place in a hospital, hotel or in a business occurs out at sea. It's a huge industry and The Bahamas is an archipelagic nation with a significant maritime tradition.  We believe the maritime industry is one that we can take greater ownership for the benefit of our people," said Deveaux.

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