The main tourism operator in the Marshall Islands, the Bikini Atoll Scuba Diving business, is shutting its doors after 13 years.
The unreliability of the local airline and skyrocketing fuel prices have prompted the closure in two weeks.
The manager of Bikini Atoll Divers, Jack Niedenthal, says closing the business was like taking a child off life support.
"We've been limping along and bleeding money all over the place, and I just thought it would be better to end the operation now and still have money to meet my payroll for another month or so and be able to return all the money to customers who have paid, rather than risk going in for another three or four months, losing a lot of money and then not being able to keep a payroll or pay people back their money."
Jack Niedenthal says the elected Bikini council will decide in August whether his business can reopen next year.
