The head of the Nassau Container Port said yesterday that he can "understand the government's position" when it states that it does not see the benefit of continuing to fund a U.S. government-initiated port security program.
Arawak Port Development Limited President and CEO Mike Maura Jr. said that as far as he is concerned, the Mega Ports program, which was implemented at the Freeport Container Port (FCP) eight years ago after an agreement was signed between the U.S. government and The Bahamas, appears primarily of use to the United States rather than The Bahamas.
His comments come as a U.S. government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Guardian Business on Monday that the U.S. government is concerned and "disappointed" that after eight years of the program, which has provided the equipment and training in Freeport to allow for the detection of nuclear and radioactive material coming into the port, The Bahamas is so far not interested in taking over financial responsibility for the program as was expected after three years under the terms of the MOU signed.
The official said that the U.S. has spent $30 million on the Mega Ports program in Freeport in the last eight years, and emphasized that it is not only for the benefit of the U.S. but also The Bahamas to have such a program in place for reasons of security and health and safety. The official said that in other countries the funding for the program once transferred has been managed in different ways, with some coming from the public and some from the private sector.
The official suggested that if the government does not decide to move ahead with it, funding would fall away and this could lead to difficulty on the part of The Bahamas in accessing future funding for projects from the U.S. government's Department of Energy, or for port security initiatives.
Another source suggested that by allowing the program to fall by the wayside Freeport Container Port could inhibit its plans to become a major logistics hub going forward.
Maura, adding that he had a visit from U.S. Department of Energy officials along with representatives from the U.S. Embassy about the possibility of installing a similar program at the Nassau Container Port around nine months ago, said that while he would not have turned down the opportunity had it been funded by the U.S., he did not see it as critical to the port's success.
"Their discussion with me centered on the U.S. government being the one to fund it and what we spoke to was that there would be sufficient training available, so our mechanical expert would be capable of maintaining it. They thanked me very much and left, and I haven't heard anything since then," said Maura in an interview with Guardian Business.
Noting that the Nassau Container Port is not a major exporting hub, he said he sees the program as primarily important for the scanning of cargo going into the U.S., rather than coming into The Bahamas, notwithstanding recent news regarding concerns about potentially radioactive cars arriving in the Caribbean from Japan.
"I think it is in the U.S. government's interest to continue to support this program, which is primarily about detecting radioactivity and weapons of mass destruction, so they can maintain a good handle on it. If they pull the funding, seems to me it only hurts their initiative."
Describing the concern about the radioactivity of some cars which had been impacted by the Fukushima nuclear disaster coming from Japan into Jamaica recently as a "once in a life time occurrence", Maura suggested that nuclear material and radioactive products entering The Bahamas is "not a regular concern".
In a statement to Guardian Business provided on condition of anonymity on Monday, a Bahamas government official said of U.S. efforts to get the Bahamian government to fund the program, that it was not minded to do so because the Freeport Container Port had indicated it does not consider it beneficial, and therefore the government is taking the position that it would not put up the estimated $200,000 in annual operation and maintenance costs.
Efforts to reach the FCP for comment were not successful up to press time.

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