By VERNON CLEMENT JONES, Guardian Business Editor, vernon@nasguard.com

Bahamas Ferries is on track to receive its new "super medium-speed" BoHengy by October, although getting rid of the high-speed boat it replaces may be anything but smooth sailing given soaring diesel prices and a glut of those gas guzzlers languishing on the international market.

"We are now paying $6 per gallon for diesel," said Chief Marketing Officer Khaalis Rolle. "In 1999, we used to pay less than a dollar."

It's a trend Bahamas Ferries started taking note of four years ago. It's one only expected to continue as crude oil prices climb above $120 a barrel and diesel demand, in particular, continues to shoot skyward.

"The new, more fuel efficient engine on the super medium-speed BoHengy now being built should help us cut costs when we receive it in September or October," he said.

That ferry will replace the high speed vessel that now races between New Providence and Harbour Island/Spanish Wells. While the "plusher", slower boat will add as much as 20 minutes onto that travel time, its more-fuel-efficient engine will keep Bahamas Ferries from immediately bumping up its fares by as much as $100 a ticket in an effort to keep pace with rising diesel costs.

The company continues to weigh the pros and cons of selling the high-speed BoHengy against those of keeping it as a back-up. Either way it's likely to be removed from active service later this year, said Rolle, pointing the arrival of the new vessel, now being manufactured in Australia by Sea Transport.

Still, that same rapid rise in diesel prices may ultimately recommend the latter approach.

"The demand for high-speed craft has been severely impacted by the cost of fuel," he told Guardian Business Thursday. "Possible purchase prices may not be as robust as they were even five years ago.

"In fact, there is a high number of high speed craft on the international market that aren't selling."

That would likely chop as much as $500k off the $2.5 million Rolle suggests is the BoHengy's true market value. The ferry is sailing toward its tenth year in service.

"We're not willing to sell it at a loss," he said.

Selling the vessel locally is also unlikely, given increasing inter-island competition making it all but impossible for Bahamas Ferries or any new entry to the sea-transportation business to run the ship and still keep fares in line with those of Bahamasair and other regional air carriers.

"Quite simply, under the current market terms, there is no market in The Bahamas for a high speed craft," he said. "But there are still niche markets out there — less competitive markets — where possible buyers can be found."

That uncertainty hasn't yet prevented the company from further investing in its current operations, spending as much as $500,000 over the last six months on dock construction and dredging among other infrastructure programs.