Genting's Bimini cruise terminal accused of reef destruction

Thursday 11th of September 2014

Genting Berhad is also mired in controversy over one of its operations in the Bahamas, according to local media reports.
Fishing, diving and snorkelling on the tiny island of North Bimini in the Bahamas are under threat from the construction of a thousand-foot cruise dock built to accommodate day trip passengers from Florida, the Cayman News Service in the Bahamas reports.
Phase one is complete but residents and environmental activists say the silt produced during the dredging still covers the surrounding, formerly pristine coral reefs, which will die if they are not given time to recover.
“What were once the clearest waters in The Bahamas, world famous for their beauty and bounty, are now becoming a disgusting plume of mud and silt,” campaign group Bimini Blue Coalition said in a letter to the local media.
A super fast cruise ship operated by the Genting owned Resorts World Bimini (RWB) brings passengers from Miami in less than three hours and will arrive at the new dock from 18 Sept. (Currently RWB uses lighters to disembark the passengers)
The ship makes three trips a week from Miami and RWB plans to add three trips a week from Fort Lauderdale in October.
“Thirty days of dredging did as much damage to the reef as 30 years of normal wear and tear,” Neal Watson, a Bimini diver operator is quoted as saying in the CNS report.
RWB is also being criticized locally for building a resort that is far too big for the island, has low occupancy rates, and places too great a strain on local infrastructure.