My nearly new autopilot died shortly after arriving in the Bahamas (January, 2019), and obtaining a replacement was far more of a hassle than it should have been. My big mistake was not hiring an expediter to handle the customs and shipping. After this experience, I wrote a letter to the local newspaper. The letter was never published (to my knowledge), but it appears below.
Those who wish to encourage tourism to the Bahamas will be interested in the experiences of one sailor and his difficulties importing a part to fix his boat. A problem that would take four days, at most, to repair in my home waters has taken a month to resolve in the Bahamas.
As my wife and I neared Marsh Harbour, a problem with the autopilot system developed. Since the autopilot was only a few months old, and still under warranty, I called the manufacturer and they agreed to FedEx a replacement part to Marsh Harbour immediately, second day air. At home, I would have been back underway in three or four days from the time when that phone call was made, and the total cost to me would have been a couple of hours with a wrench to perform the repair.
In contrast, it has taken nearly a month while waiting in Marsh Harbour. According to the tracking information on the carrier's website, on January 14, the part was mailed from Kansas, and on the 16th it arrived in Nassau. So far, so good. But the item then sat in Customs in Nassau until January 28. During this time, I called FedEx repeatedly, and they could tell me nothing beyond what I knew already: it was stuck in Customs. On January 29, now day 16, the package was released from Customs in Nassau and given back to FedEx. On February 1 (day 19), the item was sent to Marsh Harbour, but the carrier still didn't have the information needed for me to pay any import fees. On February 7, day 25, after being assured that the fees had finally been tallied, then waiting a couple of hours in the FedEx office, I was presented with an invoice for $1,112.81 to cover customs duty and VAT. That isn't far short of what I originally paid for the item, and when I questioned this amount, it came out that the cruising permit was never considered, even though I have shown it to every person in the process who could possibly care. After another morning of phone and emails, the customs invoice was revised to $237.12. This is still not what it should be, but at least I have the part, finally, on day 26.
If the Bahamas wants to attract tourists, particularly those arriving by boat, this is not the way to go about it. Any boat traveling long distances will need periodic repairs. Knowing this, sailors will not visit the Bahamas if they risk being stranded for a month by a difficult importation process. Further, when a problem could be solved at absolutely no cost at home, but is needlessly expensive here, it adds insult to injury.
The broader implications of this situation for the Bahamas can't be good. After speaking with numerous local people about the best way to resolve my problem, it became clear that smuggling is so common as to be unremarkable. When smuggling happens on such a wide scale, the government can't possibly hire enough customs agents to begin to put a dent it. If the duties and fees were reduced to reasonable levels, and administered efficiently, then people would show more respect for the process, stay within the law, and revenues would increase. The current process is so inefficient that the time involved to levy the duty can't be worth the amount collected.
As a side-note, this experience has not been without moments of surreal humour. For instance, one day I was unable to get through to the carrier on their phone number. Instead, I got a recorded message from BTC that the number was "suspended due to an outstanding balance."" Also, the local FedEx office is currently without a driver, so all packages must be picked up rather than being delivered.
In closing, it is only fair to point out that everyone I've spoken to throughout this process has been sympathetic, patient and has tried to help. That is not enough. The process is broken, even if I am unable to identify the crucial bottleneck. That is for the Minister of Tourism and Customs Department to determine.