Cat Island hoteliers are suffering due to the mailboat's infrequent visits to Cat Island with its essential supplies.
Tony Armbrister, owner of Fernandez Bay Village, told Guardian Business that he often runs short on supplies to fulfill items on his restaurant's menu.
"The whole island runs out of food," said Armbrister.
"The government used to have them come every week, and I think they are required to do 50 trips a year.
"Since they cut this new deal, these guys don't comply. I have a hotel out here with a restaurant and I'm trying to keep the food fresh, but it's impossible."
Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin told Guardian Business that the current mailboat schedule is something the Progressive Liberal Party government inherited from the previous administration. She said because the mailboat operators receive a subsidy of $8 million annually, the government would have to look at the budgetary constraints related to increasing the number of trips to a particular island.
Hanna-Martin said the government has an obligation to the Family Islands to provide this essential service, but mailboat operators also treat the service as a business, despite the government's subsidy.
Armbrister compared the service to that of the "bus service", but said the mailboat operator chooses not to come more frequently than three times per month.
"You have a whole island down here with people that are starving because he doesn't want to pay the money (to come more frequently)," he said. "There are times I have to charter airplanes to bring in the food to feed my hotel guests. I can't tell my guests 'I'm sorry we don't have'."
Guardian Business learned from another Cat Island hotelier that they, too, often have to fly in supplies because the mailboat operation is too infrequent.
Armbrister runs a 12-room resort that feeds 20 to 40 people per night, and often has to "raid" the local markets to make up for supplies that he has exhausted.
"Even if I bought bigger refrigeration, you can't keep your fresh stuff for two weeks," he said. "The worst thing that happens is I have to start raiding the local stores, which leaves nothing for locals."
Hanna-Martin said her ministry has received complaints in writing, but changing the mailboat schedule is not something the government is looking at before the next general election.
"It would require a revamp and revisit of the entire mailboat system, and we would need to see whether government's finances could manage another once-per-month trip. However, the state has an interest in ensuring connectivity."

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