A long-running land dispute in Carriacou, Grenada, has escalated into a public standoff that is disrupting marine operations and harming local livelihoods, with operators of Tyrell Bay Marina calling for urgent action to restore blocked access to their boatyard. The conflict traces its origins back to 2013, when the Grenadian government approved a lease for roughly 7 acres of adjacent mangrove land to Carriacou Devcor Ltd (CDC), the developer behind the Tyrell Bay Marina project, to support the facility’s planned expansion. That approval quickly sparked a legal challenge from the heirs of Samuel Corion, who argue the parcel was originally granted to Corion in 1914 and remains part of his family’s estate. In January 2023, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council — the region’s highest appellate body — handed down a ruling that settled the core ownership question, confirming the disputed land belongs to the Estate of Samuel Corion. However, the separate legal question of who holds the right to current possession and ongoing use of the property remains unresolved and is still working its way through local courts. The dispute boiled over in late April this year, when an unauthorized fence was erected across a key section of the marina’s boatyard. The barrier cuts off critical access between the area where vessels are stored on land, the marina’s travel lift, and its public slipway. In a break from its prior policy of staying quiet while legal proceedings move forward, Tyrell Bay Marina’s management issued a detailed public statement this week, noting they had avoided public comment out of respect for the ongoing judicial process. They emphasized their public appeal is not an attempt to try the case in the media, but rather a necessary step to address growing harm to area residents, visitors, and local businesses. Most notably, management says, the fence was installed without giving any advance notice to affected boat owners, leaving them no window to retrieve or relaunch their vessels before the access route was cut off. As of this statement, dozens of customer vessels remain stranded on dry land at the facility — a particularly devastating outcome for several owners who live aboard their boats full-time. The situation has already created widespread hardship for those affected: boat owners face prolonged uncertainty, unexpected additional costs, lost income from charter or commercial operations, and growing anxiety over the safety and security of their property. Beyond direct impacts to boat owners, the blocked access has also cut off route access for emergency services, commercial vehicles, and the marina’s daily essential operations. Despite the disruption, Tyrell Bay Marina confirmed its core travel lift infrastructure remains fully operational, and staff are ready and able to relaunch all stranded vessels as soon as the blocked route to the slipway is cleared and operations can resume without further interference. Since the fence was erected, both affected boat owners and marina management have made multiple repeated attempts to negotiate a temporary solution for restoring access. Boat owners submitted formal requests for access on May 1, May 3, May 14, and again filed a formal petition on July 24. The marina itself submitted a formal request for temporary, limited access on June 17. To date, however, the party responsible for constructing the fence has not responded to any of these outreach efforts, and no temporary agreement has been reached. The ripple effects of the impasse now extend far beyond the marina’s own operations and stranded boat owners. Tyrell Bay Marina is a central hub for Carriacou’s coastal marine economy, which supports a broad network of local workers and small businesses, including marina employees, independent contractors, marine mechanics, electricians, welders, painters, local taxi operators, guesthouse and hotel accommodation providers, waterfront restaurants, retail shops, and dozens of other micro-enterprises that rely on visitor and local vessel traffic to generate income. When vessels cannot be hauled or launched, work is either delayed entirely or lost completely; many visiting yachting visitors, who are a core economic driver for the island, have already altered their travel plans to avoid the area, cutting off a key stream of circulating income across the entire local economy. The stakes are even higher right now, as the entire island is still in the process of post-hurricane recovery and rebuilding following the passage of Hurricane Beryl earlier this year. In its statement, Tyrell Bay Marina again reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to abiding by local laws and fully respecting the ongoing judicial process. The organization says it will continue to engage with the courts, cooperate with all relevant government authorities, maintain full, transparent communication with its affected customers, and work toward a peaceful, legally sound resolution to the entire dispute. Its immediate call to action is for all involved parties and responsible authorities to center the well-being of the people and businesses currently harmed by the blockade, and prioritize the immediate restoration of safe, uninterrupted access through the boatyard to allow stranded vessels to launch. The marina added that it remains fully prepared to collaborate on all reasonable timing and practical adjustments required to restore access, all while ensuring no party’s existing legal claims are compromised by any temporary agreement. This report originally appeared in NOW Grenada, which notes it is not responsible for contributor opinions or third-party content, and invites users to report abusive content via official platform channels.