"Flying The Bahamas Flag At Sea"
World shipping companies looking for a place to locate their headquarters can't ignore the Bahamas, says Leslie J Fernandes, Chairman of Nassau-based Dockendale Shipping Co Ltd. "You can locate your office anywhere you only need good communication service and access to travel, "says Fernandes. "The Bahamas has both of those things. It also has good weather, which makes for nice working conditions for the staff."
His sentiments are echoed by Kamanna Valluri, Fernandes' successor and Dockendale's managing director. He points to other advantages: a stable government; a British legal system, which has very straightforward laws when it come t o shipping' conducting business in the English language and the discount that companies receive when registering more than one ship with the Bahamian flag.
According to the Bahamas Maritime Authority, The Bahamas today is the world's third-largest ship registry, and ranks as number one in cruise and passenger ships. In 1978 there were just 60 vessels totaling 34 million gross tons. Dockendale security measures and reputation as a world-class organization helped it land a sensitive and crucial contract with the US in 2003. The company supplied ships to transport arms, ammunition and helicopters to American troops in Iraq preparing for war with Saddam Hussein.
The company's founder, Gorge TR Campbell, a legendary Scottish naval architect, started the firm in Halifax, Nova Scotia before relocating in 1950 to Japan, where he almost singlehandedly rebuild Japan's post-Second World Warship building industry to become the largest in the world. He constructed almost 600 ocean going dry-cargo merchant vessels in every major Japanese shipyard during his 43 years in that country.
When the Japanese yen strengthened in the 1980's, Japanese shipbuilders could no longer be competitive on the world market and Dockendale moved its offices to Nassau. From 1989 onwards, the company's fleet increased to 14 ships. A significant joint venture in 1993 with Clipper Shipping Company, headquartered in Copenhagen, more than doubled the total.
"Dockendale has 36 ships sailing today in virtually every part of the world," says Valluri , who joined the company in 1980. "Fifteen are owned by us and the other 21 are Clipper ships." The company has few of its vessels build in Japan (still too expensive, Valluri notes), opting instead for ships produced in Korea and China.
The Bahamas Ship Owners Association is a "who's who" of the world's most prominent shipping names. Among these, Exxon, Texaco, Chevron, Teekay, Cunard, Maersk, Carnival, and Holland-America all have a significant number of their ships registered in The Bahamas.
Of course, yachts also get their due from the Bahamas Maritime Authority. Yacht registration in the Bahamas ins a favorite for individuals with crafts ranging from 40ft to well over 100 ft. For the record, a yacht is defined by the BMA as a vessel that doesn't' carry more than 12 passengers, is not operated for any commercial purpose at any time and never carries cargo. Apparently Dockendale's home is permanent. It recently built Dockendale House, a four-storey, $5-million corporate headquarters in Nassau, dedicated to the memory of the man who started it all George Campbell.
Bahamas Handbook and Businessman's Annual, 2005. Etienne Dupuch Jr. Publications Ltd
