OUTER COVE MARINA SQUABBLE Boat operators may shut down business

Renewing their plea for government intervention, local boat operators disclosed yesterday that the long-standing dispute over the Outer Cove Marina is forcing some of them to close down their business for good.

One of the pioneers in the boat operating business here is expected to shut down by October 1, largely due to shrinking revenues worsened by high fees imposed in the marina, according to Mike Stiefel of Saipan Sunset Cruise.

He declined to name the company or to provide other details, saying only that the boat owner has been a “long-term contributor” to the tourism industry.

Mr. Stiefel and other boat owners as well as their lawyer Rexford Kosack met yesterday with members of the Senate for two hours to discuss the issues again surrounding the use of Outer Cove.

They brought up anew their concerns over the safety of the marina, cost overruns, impact on its financial viability and the charges being passed onto operators.

While there was no commitment on any plan of action, the senators asked the group to provide them more information on the issue.

Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes said they still need to decide whether to hold an oversight investigation into the problem as he underscored the need for the government to step in and try to resolve the dilemma.

Boat owners and tour operators have been complaining about the stiff departure passenger fee, among other things, imposed by Marine Revitalization Corp. Likewise, they maintain that the set-up at the Outer Cove poses safety hazards.

MRC, a non-profit corporation, was granted a 15-year lease by the Department of Lands and Natural Resources under Public Law 9-46 on some 16,394 square meters of submerged lands to develop the marina.

But the squabble between the developer and boat owners — with no possible resolution in sight in the near future — has dragged on for nearly two years, prompting the latter to press for government intervention.

“The government has to once and for all resolve the problem… because if we don’t intervene, then the problem perpetuates and continues to be a problem until it is resolved,” said Mr. Reyes.

Mr. Stiefel said that while they don’t have exact solutions to the impasse, boat owners want the Legislature to hold oversight and come up with legislation to help address the issues.

“The problems are safety and rates,” he explained, “and we are still asking for a public hearing.”

At the same time, he expressed frustration that it has gone this far with government actions when companies are beginning to feel its impact on their business.

“We are terribly frustrated… It has been a long frustrating battle,” he said. “Our company would have been out of business two years ago if we had stayed in the Outer Cove because we couldn’t afford the rates there. We are losing money and how can we afford to lose tens of thousands dollars more of what we have lost?”

Mr. Reyes commiserated with the boat owners, saying that “this is sad because the government is supposed to encourage business development, not to discourage it.”

He stressed the government needs to find out if the developer has lived up to its commitment to make the marine safer and typhoon-proof and whether the Coastal Resources Management may have been remiss in its duty to monitor construction of breakwater in the Outer Cove.