Bahamas Information

[bahamamike]

As promised, sorry it is a little bit delayed, here is the link to find all the necessary documents for the exploration and recovery of Underwater Cultural Heritage in The Bahamas. One of my goals is to make this entire process open, so that everyone understands what the country is doing, and understands our process. This is one of my reasons for posting here. The forms on this website in order are:

The Amended Antiquities Act 2011

Regulations for Underwater Cultural Heritage 2012

Application for UCH - pdf

Application for UCH - word

http://ammcbahamas.com/Runtime/Salvage.aspx

I think I posted this somewhere else, but wanted to make it clear, there will only be 5 licences granted in the first instance. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask on here or email me at mpateman at ammcbahamas.com.

 

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[tarpon192]

Hi mike, with only 5 being isuued - who will, and how will the decisions be made on who gets issued a permit?

 

[bahamamike]

Hi mike, with only 5 being isuued - who will, and how will the decisions be made on who gets issued a permit?

The decision process will involve 3 steps -
1) Completed applications will be reviewed by me, first to ensure their completeness, and whether or not they have the resources and the abilities to complete the project they are proposing. Also, I will be reviewing the projects for the benefit of The Bahamas.
2) Once I have made my recommendations, I will be sending them to the Board of Directors of the National Museum for their review and comments.
3) The Board of Directors will send my recommendations on to our Minister (if they agree with me, which for other permits and licences they have always agreed with my recommendations), who will then present them to the Cabinet for final approvals and signature.
This entire process will take no more than 90 days for the date a completed application is submitted. But, although we are only issuing 5 licences in the first instance, this isn't a permanent number and is expected to grow as our agency and ability to monitor these projects grow.

 

[FISHEYE]

Who will the bribes be paid to and how much per permit? Do they want USD cash or do they take credit cards or checks?

 

[gord]

Who will the bribes be paid to and how much per permit? Do they want USD cash or do they take credit cards or checks?

Well, the first will have to be to Mike, and you know we can't leave any paper trail ..... bullion only!

 

[bahamamike]

Who will the bribes be paid to and how much per permit? Do they want USD cash or do they take credit cards or checks?

Well, the first will have to be to Mike, and you know we can't leave any paper trail ..... bullion only!

LMAO... you guys crap me up.

 

[FISHEYE]

Is the $100,000 bond that permit holders have to pay kept in case they forget to turn in found treasure to the ministry?

 

[Alexandre]

Is the $100,000 bond that permit holders have to pay kept in case they forget to turn in found treasure to the ministry?

C'mon Fisheye... haven't you read the part that states that, after paying the bond and the license fees, you may (m-a-y) keep the salvaged artefacts?

I love that "may"..

 

[FISHEYE]

I read where they can revoke your permit and they keep all the treasure and your bond,application fees are also non refundable even if you are denied a permit.What a racket this is.collecting money for supposed permits.The bahamian economy will be booming with all the money they collect and they dont have to give out any permits.Sound familiar?And they wonder why so many people pirate their wrecks.

 

[bahamamike]

Is the $100,000 bond that permit holders have to pay kept in case they forget to turn in found treasure to the ministry?

There are many points to the bond. The main point though is to protect the interests of the country. You have to remember The Bahamas has a very nasty past with treasure hunters either robbing the country or creating huge environmental problems. The bond is just an insurance measure. You don't have to put up the bond until you are issued a licence. Also, the bond is returned to you at the end of your project.

 

[Hubster]

Hi Bahama Mike,

Aside from the permitting process, any idea how the Bahamas are handling the issue of determining ownership of shipwrecks? For example:

1) Are the Bahamian courts setup to determine ownership? If yes, are the courts applying the traditional maritime/admiralty concepts of the law of finds (requiring the wreck be abandoned) and the law of salvage?

2) For state owned vessels (e.g., warships), will the courts require that the state has "expressly" abandoned (e.g., via a Treaty) a ship before finding abandonment?

3) Also, do the Bahamian courts recognize the concept of sovereign immunity (as in the Black Swann, Odyssey Marine case)?

thx,
Hub

 

[ScubaFinder]

Nice work Fisheye....the Bahamas FINALLY decides to work with treasure hunters again, and you immediately start acting just like the last guys who got us kicked out. You should be proud!

Great questions Hubster!

 

[FISHEYE]

Scubafinder,

One day i would like to work in the bahamas but before any money changes hands i will do a backgound check on everyone involved there with interpol.

Im a little Leary about giving money to the bahamian government or a so called ministry that is represented by someone on a forum that doesnt list his email or real name in his profile or anywhere else and has only made 8 posts.Completed applications will be reviewed by bahamamike.Plus that refers to a bahama website that is hosted on a anon server in canada under safenames.net.And the website is very vague on information as well as the PDFs of the of the licensing and regulations.The PDF's were not written by anyone with the knowledge of law.Theres no phone numbers for each of the board of directors or the minister.No pictures of any shipwreck treasure found with the documentation with it.No listing of any archeologists.

Dont any of you find info this rather odd?

ammcbahamas.com are using Adsense for Monetization and Advertising Revenue Generation with Publisher ID ammcbahamas.com has used Google Analytic as a tool for traffic tracking and monitoring with Account ID.Traffic Statistics Alexa Traffic Rank: 705,437 .This data has been hidden by the owner.Based on these statistics we estimate that ammcbahamas.com has a traffic volume of 79,852 pageviews per month.ammcbahamas.com has received 0 review so far.

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[ScubaFinder]

A little different than we are used to, yes. I have spoken to Michael Pateman (BahamaMike) several times via phone, email, and PM. He has put me in touch with one of the Bahamian Salvage groups working on a permit application. These guys are Bahamian citizens and business owners, and they know their government well, and they are ready to give their last dimes to get a permit. I do understand your concerns though, trust does not come easy in our business.

Tell you what, I'll go hold a place in the permit line, and you let me know how those interpol checks come out. :-)

 

[bahamamike]

Scubafinder,

One day i would like to work in the bahamas but before any money changes hands i will do a backgound check on everyone involved there with interpol.

Im a little Leary about giving money to the bahamian government or a so called ministry that is represented by someone on a forum that doesnt list his email or real name in his profile or anywhere else and has only made 8 posts.Completed applications will be reviewed by bahamamike.Plus that refers to a bahama website that is hosted on a anon server in canada under safenames.net.And the website is very vague on information as well as the PDFs of the of the licensing and regulations.The PDF's were not written by anyone with the knowledge of law.Theres no phone numbers for each of the board of directors or the minister.No pictures of any shipwreck treasure found with the documentation with it.No listing of any archeologists.

Dont any of you find info this rather odd?

ammcbahamas.com are using Adsense for Monetization and Advertising Revenue Generation with Publisher ID ammcbahamas.com has used Google Analytic as a tool for traffic tracking and monitoring with Account ID.Traffic Statistics Alexa Traffic Rank: 705,437 .This data has been hidden by the owner.Based on these statistics we estimate that ammcbahamas.com has a traffic volume of 79,852 pageviews per month.ammcbahamas.com has received 0 review so far.

Fair enough. My name is Michael Pateman and my email is mpateman at ammcbahamas dot com, i posted that on one of the other forums, for obvious reasons, I don't put the @ sign because of spam bots. I work with the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation also known as the National Museum of The Bahamas, we are a quasi-governmental agency established in a 1998 Act, and 1999 Regulations under the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, as the principle heritage conservation agency for The Bahamas. Yes our website is horrible, and needs a lot of work If you doubt my or our agency's legitimacy, you can go on the Bahamas Government Website (bahamas.gov.bs), and get the phone number for the ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (242-502-0600) the Minister's Name is Charles Maynard and they will direct you to me. Also, google my name, you will see who I am. The phone number for our office is 242-326-2566.

Here is the link to our original legislation - http://laws.bahamas.gov.bs/cms/imag...8-0005/AntiquitiesMonumentsandMuseumAct_1.pdf

I only have a few posts, because after reading some of the forums, I saw a lot of misinformation out there, so I decided to post to help clarify what is going on.

If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to contact me. Either at the email address above, or you can post here, I have nothing to hide.

 

[bahamamike]

here is more if you feel like questioning who i am some more, and I can keep posting

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2010/08/bahamas-caves/todhunter-text

http://freeport.nassauguardian.net/national_local/341879370184022.php

http://www.amazon.com/Protecting-He...=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329939199&sr=1-3

http://www.tribune242.com/searchresults/11212011_treasure_news_pg7

http://www.tribune242.com/searchresults/09022009_blueholes_ToughCall-pg8

http://www.tribune242.com/searchresults/08092011_trees_news_pg2

 

[Dell Winders]

Mike, my question pertains to customs & immigration.

I'm assuming the first Shipwreck permits will be issued to Bahamanian companies? If it is in their interest to lease an equipped survey, or salvage boat, and/or a qualified crew from the US private sector, does the Bahamas salvage permit account for this, or will it be necessary for the permit holder to pay additional bonds, customs fees, and secure individual work permits for Captain, and technical crew before they are allowed to legally exercise a search & recovery permit.

Will a visa, be sufficient for an American to be aboard a Bahamian, or American registered vessel, as an advisor?

Thanks. Dell

 

[pvet7521]

I worked as a subcontractor so to speak, under Rosco Thompsons permit in the early 90s. Is he still around? And would it be easier for Bahamian citizens to get search permits and allow non Bahamians work under thier papers?

 

[signumops]

Be advised: this is not a government heist. Completely legit. Think about it... how would YOU secure a $100,000.00 bond in a foreign bank?

 

[FISHEYE]

They should put the $100,000.00 bond in a escrow account in the USA.What if the economy crashes?100k is alot of money for a treasure company and its investors.And i dont see any guarantees you will get it back.All they have to say is you broke the rules,and we want everything you found.

What other countries ask for a bond?