From “Project Document Agricultural Sector Services Marketing Component,” by Trevor Hamilton & Associates, International Consultants & Analysts, Kingston, Jamaica, WI, October, 1989, page 12
“Twenty-three mail boats are under contract to transport mails to the islands at least once per week. The mail boats have capacities ranging from 62 to 350 tons. Each boat is requires to provide North bound transportation services to farmers and packing houses shipping their agricultural produce to the produce exchange in Nassau. Table-1 which follows, lists the names of the boats, their respective haulage capacities, and the islands they serve:
# VESSEL NAME TONS PORTS / ISLANDS SERVED
1. M/V Current Pride 88 Eleuthera
2. M/V Gloria 94 Mangrove Cay
3. M/V Captain Moxey II 132 South Andros
4. M/V Windward Express 95 Acklins, Long Cay
5. M/V Marcello III 350 Grand Bahama
6. M/V Big Yard Express 102 Mangrove Cay
7. M/V Miss Juanita 200 South Eleuthera
8. M/V Day Break II 102 North Eleuthera
9. M/V Grand Master 214 Exuma
10. M/V Champion II 90 Sandy Point, Moore’s Island, Berry Islands
11. M/V Deborah K 204 Abaco Island
12. M/V Central Andros Express 62 Central Andros
13. M/V Nay Dean 91 North Long Island
14. M/V Nay Dean [same name?] 146 North Long Island
15. M/V North Cat Island Special 98 North Cat Island
16. M/V Captain Dean V 80 N/A
17. M/V Harley & Charley 91 Central Eleuthera
18. M/V Lady Blanche 97 Exuma Cays
19. M/V Lady Eula 149 North Cat Island
20. M/V Current Queen 79 Ragged Island
21. M/V Commonwealth 96 Mayaguana
22. M/V Lisa J. II 298 North Andros
23. M/V Bimini Mack 247 Bimini
TOTAL 3,205” tons
Page 13: “The [mail] boats enjoy exclusivity in provision of shipping services to the Produce Exchange and the packaging houses. The justifications for giving them a monopoly are:
– It is uneconomical to return from the family islands with mail only
– It is an informal condition for transporting the mail.
The boats are equipped to transport dry goods and a limited amount of frozen foods from Nassau to the Family Islands (South Bound). However, they are not properly equipped with chilling facilities to transport fresh fruits and vegetables. Consequently they are a main attribute to the high rate of spoilage (55%) between the packaging houses and the point of final sale in the Produce Exchange procurement and distribution network [TABLE is inserted here]
In addition to the spoilage caused by the poorly equipped mail boats, there are also a main source of congestion at the Potters Cay Wharf. Their loading and unloading technology is inefficient. Consequently:
– Unloading of fresh produce takes 4-6 hours
– This creates congestion and therefore makes the Produce Exchange an unattractive locations for procuring fresh fruits and vegetables
– The long delays in off loading deteriorate the quality of produce while they are held in the hot storage compartment of the boats
– The Freeport Exchange is a subsidiary institution of the Potter’s Cay produce exchange. It receives produced from Potter’s Cay exchange and distributes it to wholesalers…. “
CONTINUES with granular details of “organizations associated with policy/administration” which are not germane to mailboats.