By NEIL HARTNELL
TRIBUNE Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE PORT Lucaya Marina’s redevelopment has again been plunged into uncertainty, its developers disclosed yesterday, as they blamed Grand Bahama Development Company’s (DevCO) “unreasonable and unworkable” terms for the latest halt.
Bahama Land Waterways, which is owned by Port Lucaya Marketplace proprietor, Peter Hunt, and his business partner, Shmuel Herschkowitz, in a statement accused their landlord of proposing a draft Supreme Court Order that would “impose judicial supervision” over their plans to repair and redevelop the Freeport destination.
They added that key details surrounding the obligations DevCo wishes to impose on the project, as well as the timelines and procedures, were all unclear leaving the new owners to launch a legal appeal to the Court of Appeal while further delaying demolition and redevelopment work and Port Lucaya Marina’s revival.
Tribune Business reached out to DevCo for comment and response but none was received before press time last night. However, well-placed Freeport sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested that DevCO, as landlord and seabed owner, seems to lack trust and confidence in Bahama Land Waterways and its owners, and their ability to execute their redevelopment plans.
And questions were also raised over whether Mr Hunt and Mr Herschkowitz, who the Central Bank previously said were investing $22m in the Port Lucaya Marketplace, have good, clean and marketable title to the property.
This newspaper was told that the Dupuch & Turnquest law firm has a solicitor’s lien, or charge, secured on the Port Lucaya Marina and its assets over unpaid legal bills left behind by the former owners - Preben Olsen and his New Hope Holdings vehicle, Duane Crithfield and TG Investments - who Bahama Land Waterways acquired the facility from.
It is unclear why these outstanding bills were not picked up in due diligence conducted by the buyer before it completed the deal, and why they were not settled by the former owners. Mr Hunt did not reply to a Tribune Business e-mail setting out questions on this issue before press time last night.
Still, Mr Hunt and Mr Herschkowitz, in their statement yesterday, blamed the latest hold-up on DevCo despite a recent Supreme Court verdict by Justice Constance Delancy that rejected the latter’s bid for a “lease forfeiture” Order that would have allowed it to seize control of Port Lucaya Marina.
“Although DevCo's claim to take back the seabed lease was rejected by the Supreme Court, the terms of DevCo's proposed draft order, submitted to the Supreme Court seeking to impose judicial supervision over the repair and redevelopment of Port Lucaya Marina, are both unreasonable and unworkable,” Bahama Land Waterways asserted.
“The reasons for the decision, the precise scope of the repair and redevelopment obligations imposed, the procedures and the proposed timescales are all unclear. It is therefore with regret that we are constrained to appeal that part of the Supreme Court's decision to The Bahamas’ Court of Appeal.”
Justice Delancy, in a September 17, 2026, verdict on a dispute triggered some 13 years ago, in nrejecting the forfeiture bid nevertheless ordered that the marina’s holding company, Port Lucaya Marina Company, perform its obligations under the 99-year seabed lease deal with DevCo by repairing and upgrading the facility.
This work is to include all docks, jetties and navigational aids, and removing any trash, waste and pollution. She also ordered Port Lucaya Marina Company and, in effect, its Bahama Land Waterways owner, to hire a GBPA licensed and approved structural engineer within 30 days “to conduct a full assessment and analysis of the marina” and prepare a report on the type of repairs required to remedy the lease breaches.
The report is to be completed within 60 days of the structural engineer’s hiring, meaning by mid-November, and be shared with DEVCO, and then Port Lucaya Marina is to apply for a GBPA building permit. Justice Delancy’s ruling made no mention of either side submitting further “draft Orders” to her.
However, Bahama Land Waterways added: “Until those issues are resolved, it would not be commercially responsible to commit substantial further capital to demolition and reconstruction while uncertainty remains over the legal framework governing the works.
“We remain willing to agree a practical and reasonable resolution that allows the redevelopment to proceed without further unnecessary delay.” The Port Lucaya Marina purchaser and its owners, though, confirmed it has not abandoned its redevelopment plans despite the demolition and reconstruction delay.
“After spending more than three painstaking years negotiating to settle long-standing ownership and other disputes between the previous owners, the owners of Port Lucaya Marketplace successfully concluded their acquisition of the adjacent Port Lucaya Marina and Grand Bahama Yacht Club,” Mr Hunt and Mr Herschkowitz said.
“Our intention and plans upon acquisition have been clear from the outset: To move forward immediately with the demolition of the deteriorated marina structures and the construction of a modern replacement marina, creating new activity, employment, tourism and economic benefits for Port Lucaya and Grand Bahama…
“Our investment plans for Port Lucaya Marina remain firmly in place. The objective remains to rebuild the marina to a modern standard, strengthen Port Lucaya Marketplace and Grand Bahama Yacht Club, attract visiting yachts, support local businesses and create additional employment and tourism activity,” the duo added.
“After many years of economic difficulty in Grand Bahama, major private investment should be encouraged through a clear, predictable and constructive environment.
“Investors committing substantial capital to the island should be met with co-operation, practical engagement and regulatory certainty, rather than being drawn into prolonged and unnecessary legal proceedings that delay development and undermine confidence.
“Our objective is not confrontation, but to work together to rebuild Port Lucaya Marina, strengthen Grand Bahama's tourism economy and create a more welcoming environment for future investment. Our commitment to Port Lucaya and Grand Bahama remains unchanged.”
This is not the first time, though, that DevCO and Bahama Land Waterways have been at odds. The latter previously sent a formal notice to the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) co-chairs, Rupert Hayward and Sarah St George, demanding that an earlier ‘stop work’ order be removed with “immediate” effect and signalled that legal action is likely unless the impasse is swiftly resolved.
And, warning of the economic fall-out, they wrote that Port Lucaya Marketplace will be unable to “sustain its long-term operations” without a revived Port Lucaya Marina to drive visitor traffic and access. The Marketplace, Bahama Land Waterways added, has seen its occupancy decline to about 50 percent while “rental rates have not been increased for more than 12 years”.
However, the GBPA and DevCo denied they were unnecessarily or unduly blocking, or interfering with, the latter’s renovation and redevelopment.
Their position was that they were simply enforcing long-standing permitting and approval requirements designed to protect public safety and ensure legal compliance. While Bahama Land Waterways had approached the GBPA for the necessary permits months ago, DevCo - as landlord - had to give written authorisation for the works to proceed and this has not been forthcoming.
DevCo’s stance was that Bahama Land Waterways and its principals had at the time yet to provide it with the necessary documents and paperwork to show they are now the actual owners and authorised representatives able to speak for Port Lucaya Marina Company, which holds the 99-lease on the property. That issue was understood to have been resolved.