The Bahamas cut cruising permit fees on April 1 and boaters cheered. Rightly — the numbers came back down to where a repeat trip from South Florida makes sense again.
What got much less attention is everything else that changed in the same bill, and a couple of those things carry penalties that make a permit fee look like nothing.
If you are running to the islands this fall, read this part before you go.
If your boat is over 50 feet, you now need AIS running
Regulation 40B is new, and it is not optional.
Every foreign vessel over 50 feet in Bahamian waters must have an Automatic Identification System installed, operational, and turned on at all times.
Not switched on when convenient. Not off while you are anchored somewhere quiet. At all times, while you are in their water.
Reported fines run up to $1,000, and the practical effect is bigger than the money — a boat that is supposed to be transmitting and is not is a boat that has drawn attention to itself.
If you are 51 feet and have never run AIS, that is a piece of equipment to sort out before you cross, not after.
Your fishing permit expires long before your cruising permit does
This one catches people every season, and it is the single most common expensive mistake.
Fishing permits are no longer included in the cruising permit fee. They are separate — $100 for vessels under 50 feet, $300 for vessels 50 and over.
And here is the trap: a fishing permit is valid for 30 days. That is true even if you are holding a 12-month cruising permit.
Twelve-month permit, thirty-day fishing permit. If you are down for the season and you renewed the cruising permit and assumed you were covered, you are not. It renews every thirty days or you are fishing without one.
Do not run a charter without a Bahamian license
This is the one with real teeth, and the U.S. State Department flags it explicitly in its Bahamas travel advisory.
Operating a fishing boat or any charter in Bahamian waters without a license from The Bahamas Port Departmentcarries penalties of a fine up to $100,000 and three years in prison.
The advisory also states plainly that police have detained American boaters and seized their vessels.
If somebody is paying you to take them fishing in Bahamian water, you need Bahamian paperwork. A U.S. captain’s license does not travel.
The permit structure, since you are checking anyway
Three tiers, and the re-entry rules are where the value sits.
30-day: $250 for 31–50 feet, $350 for 51–100, $600 over 100. No free re-entry.
6-month: $750 for 51–100 feet, $2,000 over 100. One free re-entry.
12-month: $1,000 for 51–100 feet, $3,000 over 100. Two free re-entries.
Frequent Digital Cruising Card: two years, unlimited entries. $1,500 under 50 feet, $2,500 for 50–99, $8,000 over 100. If you cross more than three times a year, run the math — the FDCC usually wins.
Anchoring fees now apply only if you actually anchor outside a licensed marina, rather than simply for entering. That was a genuine improvement.
And the basics have not changed
Clear at the nearest designated Port of Entry. Fly the yellow quarantine flag on arrival. Only the captain leaves the boatuntil you are cleared. Everyone aboard needs proof of citizenship and U.S. citizens need a passport. Forms go through the Click2Clear portal.
The honest summary
The Bahamas made itself cheaper to visit and stricter to visit in the same bill. The fees came down because traffic dropped and they wanted the boats back. The enforcement went up because the boats that were coming were not all playing straight.
Both things are fair. Just do not read the first headline and skip the rest.
See you on the water.