A tragic accident that left two young girls dead when a barge slammed into the small sailboat they were on during a summer sailing camp in Miami has triggered fears among Bahamians, reigniting concerns over a proposed development in Exuma that would allow supply ships and barges to ply areas popular with swimmers and small boats.
“The recent accident in Biscayne Bay that took the lives of two sisters and left a family devastated is a stark reminder that large commercial vessels and swimmers cannot share the same waters,” said a statement from the Save Exuma Alliance (SEA).
“We are urging the government to do the right thing and not permit Yntegra or any future developer to dredge the North Bay of Sampson Cay or to use it for commercial boating traffic, but allow it to remain the natural recreational treasure it is — a unique and safe place for swimmers and small boats, kayaks, paddleboards, and dinghies.”
Representatives from SEA said vessels currently avoid the North Bay entirely because its strong currents and shallow waters make it unsuited for boats of any size above a small center-console shallow-draft runabout.
“It is reckless to try to reshape such a sensitive area for barge traffic,” said SEA, noting the bay is a natural recreational haven and that routing commercial vessels through waters used by swimmers, divers, and small boaters would put lives at risk.
SEA’s plea to halt the permitting process for dredging to make way for large vessels — including supply barges to deliver goods or haul trash and debris from a proposed Rosewood hotel site — follows the tragedy that made international news when a small sailboat with five girls and a 19-year-old woman was smashed into and run over by a barge off Hibiscus Island. The cause of death was ruled as accidental drowning. Video of the July 29 incident went viral, and commentators on news stations around the globe warned viewers that it was “hard to watch.”
“Barges are notoriously hard to steer. The flat bottom and broad width with no keel make them vulnerable to wind and current and thus, without a tugboat to try to control the steerage, they can be extremely dangerous — especially in small spaces or where the current is strong, and it is definitely strong in the North Bay off Sampson,” said SEA, an alliance of tour operators, airlines, resort accommodations, business owners, and island residents in the Central Exuma Cays.
The alliance was formed to ensure responsible, sustainable development in an area that has been called “the most beautiful place on Earth from space.” SEA is urging a reimagining of the Yntegra plan, which they say is too large and poses too great a risk for the island. As the plan stands now, it calls for more than 70 structures, two marinas, and dredging of vast meadows of seagrass. The dredging would also potentially destroy thousands of baby conch, displace protected sea turtle populations, smash coral reefs, and destroy acres of mangroves.
A smaller, eco-sensitive, fully funded development — Turtlegrass Resort & Island Club — which is under construction on Sampson Cay, has announced it will halt construction at the conclusion of Phase One due to the risks posed by the Yntegra plan. Those risks include yacht and barge activity in the bay, where Turtlegrass guests would have been able to swim, snorkel, and explore the sandbars and reefs the Exuma Cays are known around the world for.
Turtlegrass is the second-largest employer in the Central Exuma area.
Two weeks before the Miami incident involving the campers at a Miami Yacht Club summer sailing camp, a Texas man was nearly sliced in half when a speeding boat ran over him as he snorkeled less than 50 feet off a popular beach on the first day of a family vacation. He was airlifted to a Florida hospital and, two days ago, was airlifted again to a facility closer to home, where he was reunited with his two daughters following the ordeal. His recovery is expected to take months, and the incident has continued to make headlines outside The Bahamas, with a potential impact on public perception of visitor safety and security. Two men have been charged in that case, and a third is still being sought. The boat that hit him did not stop to assist.
A petition calling for a halt to the Yntegra permitting process pending further review has gained more than 5,000 signatures.
