AS rescue efforts continued for five people missing in a submersible expedition running out of air after descending to the sunken Titanic, details emerged of the company behind the expedition's links to The Bahamas - including a similar trip offered in our waters.

Insight into OceanGate and its Bahamian links comes as the search for five people who went missing in a Titan submersible headed for the Titanic’s wreckage has captivated global audiences. Up to press time, the vessel had still not been found, dimming hopes that survivors would be rescued. The company features its partners on its website - including the University of The Bahamas - while the website also advertises four expeditions: the Titanic Expedition, an Azores Expedition, a Bespoke Expedition and The Bahamas Expedition. #“Dive the Great Bahama Bank to depths far beyond the reach of scuba to research sharks, whales, shipwrecks, and deep marine biology,” the website says. # “The ‘Tongue of the Ocean’ is a deep-water basin that is surrounded by the Great Bahama Bank. Its deep blue waters are home to an abundance of fascinating sea creatures like Cuvier’s beaked whales, deep-dwelling sharks, and several historic shipwrecks.” # The cost of the experience is $45,000, covering one submersible dive, expedition gear, dive training, meals onboard the vessel and transportation to and from the dive site. # OceanGate’s website says: “The Titan submersible can seat five people. The dive team will usually include: a pilot, three mission specialists, and one content expert.” The dates listed for The Bahamas expedition are December 23 to January 24. # It is unclear whether people have taken part in the trip or what licences OceanGate has to offer the experience in the country. It is also unclear whether its Bahamian expedition would raise safety concerns similar to its Titanic expedition; concerns have been raised particularly about the safety of operating the Titan submersible at extreme depths. # Government officials did not respond to The Tribune’s questions before press time yesterday. # In addition to the Bahamian expedition, OceanGate Expeditions’ website details its partnership with the University of The Bahamas for “the development and execution of submersible expeditions and research-based programmes”. The company purportedly mobilised to The Bahamas in April 2017 as part of a long-term testing programme for the Titan submersible. # Dr Carlton Watson, the university’s dean of the faculty of pure and applied sciences, is quoted as saying: “This partnership will further strengthen the university’s drive to develop flagship programmes in Small Island Studies by facilitating unique learning opportunities, trans-disciplinary research and innovation, as well as the establishment of networks of field stations and centres of excellence across the Bahamian archipelago.” # Dr Watson declined to comment on the partnership yesterday, referring a reporter to former UB president Dr Rodney Smith. On April 14, 2019, OceanGate Expeditions’ Facebook page posted a video of a team completing maintenance and system checks of the Titan submersible near Little Harbour on Great Abaco. #According to international reports, in 2018 the company’s expeditions were delayed a year due to difficulties encountered during deep-water testing of its submersible in The Bahamas. #“While we are disappointed by the need to reschedule the expedition, we are not willing to shortcut the testing process due to a condensed timeline,” Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, said in a press release in 2018. “We are 100 per cent committed to safety, and want to fully test the sub and validate all operational and emergency procedures before launching any expedition.” # International reports also highlighted a partnership between OceanGate and the Island School in Cape Eleuthera. # Chris Maxey, founder and board president of the Island School, told The Tribune yesterday that OceanGate Expeditions officials visited his institute ten years ago, but a partnership never materialised. # “We know them. They came, they gave a presentation to our students, but we never actually had a partnership,” he said. “They visited probably ten years ago so there was never any operational partnership, it was just a conversation. # “I remember them visiting our campus and there was a conversation about them using Cape Eleuthera as a base for their submarines because we’re right near the wall here, but nothing ever moved forward.”

Insight into OceanGate and its Bahamian links comes as the search for five people who went missing in a Titan submersible headed for the Titanic’s wreckage has captivated global audiences. Up to press time, the vessel had still not been found, dimming hopes that survivors would be rescued.

The company features its partners on its website - including the University of The Bahamas - while the website also advertises four expeditions: the Titanic Expedition, an Azores Expedition, a Bespoke Expedition and The Bahamas Expedition.

“Dive the Great Bahama Bank to depths far beyond the reach of scuba to research sharks, whales, shipwrecks, and deep marine biology,” the website says.

“The ‘Tongue of the Ocean’ is a deep-water basin that is surrounded by the Great Bahama Bank. Its deep blue waters are home to an abundance of fascinating sea creatures like Cuvier’s beaked whales, deep-dwelling sharks, and several historic shipwrecks.”

The cost of the experience is $45,000, covering one submersible dive, expedition gear, dive training, meals onboard the vessel and transportation to and from the dive site.

OceanGate’s website says: “The Titan submersible can seat five people. The dive team will usually include: a pilot, three mission specialists, and one content expert.”

The dates listed for The Bahamas expedition are December 23 to January 24.

It is unclear whether people have taken part in the trip or what licences OceanGate has to offer the experience in the country. It is also unclear whether its Bahamian expedition would raise safety concerns similar to its Titanic expedition; concerns have been raised particularly about the safety of operating the Titan submersible at extreme depths.

Government officials did not respond to The Tribune’s questions before press time yesterday.

In addition to the Bahamian expedition, OceanGate Expeditions’ website details its partnership with the University of The Bahamas for “the development and execution of submersible expeditions and research-based programmes”. The company purportedly mobilised to The Bahamas in April 2017 as part of a long-term testing programme for the Titan submersible.

Dr Carlton Watson, the university’s dean of the faculty of pure and applied sciences, is quoted as saying: “This partnership will further strengthen the university’s drive to develop flagship programmes in Small Island Studies by facilitating unique learning opportunities, trans-disciplinary research and innovation, as well as the establishment of networks of field stations and centres of excellence across the Bahamian archipelago.”

Dr Watson declined to comment on the partnership yesterday, referring a reporter to former UB president Dr Rodney Smith.

On April 14, 2019, OceanGate Expeditions’ Facebook page posted a video of a team completing maintenance and system checks of the Titan submersible near Little Harbour on Great Abaco.

According to international reports, in 2018 the company’s expeditions were delayed a year due to difficulties encountered during deep-water testing of its submersible in The Bahamas.

“While we are disappointed by the need to reschedule the expedition, we are not willing to shortcut the testing process due to a condensed timeline,” Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, said in a press release in 2018. “We are 100 per cent committed to safety, and want to fully test the sub and validate all operational and emergency procedures before launching any expedition.”

International reports also highlighted a partnership between OceanGate and the Island School in Cape Eleuthera.

Chris Maxey, founder and board president of the Island School, told The Tribune yesterday that OceanGate Expeditions officials visited his institute ten years ago, but a partnership never materialised.

“We know them. They came, they gave a presentation to our students, but we never actually had a partnership,” he said. “They visited probably ten years ago so there was never any operational partnership, it was just a conversation.

“I remember them visiting our campus and there was a conversation about them using Cape Eleuthera as a base for their submarines because we’re right near the wall here, but nothing ever moved forward.”

 

Another hurricane season is upon us and we have no indication that the government has a plan to address another disaster even close to the magnitude of Hurricane Dorian.

Given the failures of the Disaster Reconstruction Authority (DRA) during the past administration, which created it, there was hope that the Davis administration would prove more adept at dealing with the challenges facing Abaco and Grand Bahama.

All hope in that regard is gone.

The DRA has been a non-factor in Abaco and Grand Bahama for some time, with its Homeowner Assistance and Relief Program seeing middling results.

At last report, a few homes of elderly citizens were repaired, but the vast majority of people who were left displaced by Hurricane Dorian have not felt any significant impact.

It is unclear why the DRA has been so ineffective, but there is no dodging that is has been.

The government made great fanfare late last year when it passed the Disaster Risk Management Act.

That act repealed the Disaster Preparedness and Response Act of 2008 and the Disaster Reconstruction Authority Act of 2019.

It was also supposed to form the Disaster Risk Management Authority.

The new act was supposed to establish the Disaster Risk Management Authority, which would replace the National Emergency Management Agency and the Disaster Reconstruction Authority.

During debate on the Disaster Risk Management Bill, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Myles LaRoda said "the government of The Bahamas accepts that we must do all that is necessary to ensure that comprehensive disaster management policies and strategies address all aspects of the disaster management cycle: prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery".

"Investing in preparedness and disaster risk reduction is much cheaper than in response. We must not wait for disasters to occur and then act, but take disaster risk reduction seriously; it reduces losses of lives, livelihood, and property," LaRoda said.

He also promised broad public engagement with regard to formulating policy.

"We believe in improving knowledge and innovation to mitigate the risks of natural hazards and building a culture for disaster resilience," he said.

"The legislation also makes provisions to support a whole of government approach to disaster risk management, especially the integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change across the different sectors and through all levels of government, through information sharing, cooperation, and joint planning, as appropriate, and to govern the declaration of disaster situations and ensure disaster response operations are adequate, and to facilitate the entry and coordination of international humanitarian assistance when required during a disaster situation, and to establish an Emergency Fund."

Speaking to the bill in the House last year, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper said the former administration's handling of the aftermath of Dorian was "one of the most shameful things to have occurred in our history."

"I don't recall another instance where in the face of such tragedy, such grace was given, such bounty of generosity offered and such goodwill and hope were given so freely only to be squandered so thoroughly by an administration of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas," Cooper said.

"The people of Abaco and Grand Bahama were failed beyond measure by the Minnis administration - some call it the menace administration - and we are left here to pick up the pieces of the disaster that was the Disaster Reconstruction Authority."

While Cooper is not wrong about the former administration, the national discussion promised by the current administration has been non-existent.

Last we checked, the Disaster Risk Management Authority has not been formed and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) still very much exists.

NEMA is tasked with formulating an annual plan.

If it has, there is no public record of it.

Neither has there been a release of the national shelters list.

Despite a recent press conference, NEMA and the DRA provided an unsatisfactory update on the country's level of preparedness for the season.

Thirteen named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes are predicted this season.

Very few people could tell you, or care for that matter, how many storms were predicted when hurricanes Joaquin, Matthew, Irma and Dorian hit.

The Davis administration has a prime minister and a minister of state responsible for natural disaster response, yet there is no inkling of what such a response would look like.

God forbid a hurricane hits us this season and this administration proves as inept as the last one.

If you thought your Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 was bold, wait until you see the new model, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 5G!  This foldable smartphone is not only bold, but its design is refined and modern, bringing innovations that go beyond looks.

Even when folded, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 5G provides quick access to useful tools, with just two taps. That's because the cover screen allows you to view key information conveniently by keeping your favorite widgets available, so you can perform simple actions like answering calls, play your favorite music and checking the calendar, among many others that can be customized to make your day-to-day easier.

Here’s how you can personalize your phone’s cover screen of your Z Flip4 5G with the information that best suit your routine with this easy step by step guide:

1. With the smartphone open, swipe up and open the "Settings" icon. Then, in Settings menu, tap "Cover screen". 

2. In “Front Screen” menu, go to “Widgets”. Then you will find a list of widgets that, when activated, will be available on the external screen of your smartphone when it is folded. Activate each widget option that you want to be available on the external screen. 

3. You can also choose the sequence in which you want the activated widgets to appear on the external display of your Z Flip4 5G. Just click "Reorder" in the top right corner and move the list items up or down according to your priority. 

4. Once the widgets are activated and arranged in the menu in the order that suits you best, they will be available on the external screen of your Z Flip4 5G. To access them when your smartphone is folded, double-tap the external screen and swipe left. Thus, the Widgets will appear in the previously selected sequence. It’s easy to edit directly from the cover screen by moving, adding or deleting them the way you want. 

The camera comes in an array of colors -  Bora Purple, Graphite, Pink Gold, and Blue. You can customize your phone with Bespoke Edition front and back panels and frames. Bespoke Edition colors are Yellow, White, Navy, Khaki and Red. Frames come in Black, Silver and Gold.  

The new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 5G. Coming soon to The Bahamas.

 

 If you thought your Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 was bold, wait until you see the new model, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 5G!  This foldable smartphone is not only bold, but its design is refined and modern, bringing innovations that go beyond looks. Even when folded, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 5G provides quick access to useful tools, with just two taps. That's because the cover screen allows you to view key information conveniently by keeping your favorite widgets available, so you can perform simple actions like answering calls, play your favorite music and checking the calendar, among many others that can be customized to make your day-to-day easier. Here’s how you can personalize your phone’s cover screen of your Z Flip4 5G with the information that best suit your routine with this easy step by step guide: 1.     With the smartphone open, swipe up and open the "Settings" icon. Then, in Settings menu, tap "Cover screen".   2.     In “Front Screen” menu, go to “Widgets”. Then you will find a list of widgets that, when activated, will be available on the external screen of your smartphone when it is folded. Activate each widget option that you want to be available on the external screen.   3.      You can also choose the sequence in which you want the activated widgets to appear on the external display of your Z Flip4 5G. Just click "Reorder" in the top right corner and move the list items up or down according to your priority.   4.     Once the widgets are activated and arranged in the menu in the order that suits you best, they will be available on the external screen of your Z Flip4 5G. To access them when your smartphone is folded, double-tap the external screen and swipe left. Thus, the Widgets will appear in the previously selected sequence. It’s easy to edit directly from the cover screen by moving, adding or deleting them the way you want.  The camera comes in an array of colors -  Bora Purple, Graphite, Pink Gold, and Blue. You can customize your phone with Bespoke Edition front and back panels and frames. Bespoke Edition colors are Yellow, White, Navy, Khaki and Red. Frames come in Black, Silver and Gold.   The new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 5G. Coming soon to The Bahamas.

The Cabinet Office has announced that Daylight Saving Time will commence on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at 2:00 a.m., and will end on Sunday, November 5, 2023 at 2:00 a.m.