Tough new licensing regulations that control the use of water sport vessels as well as their operators need to be enacted to address the issue of negligence in the industry, President of the Bahamas Hotel Association (BHA) Jeremy MacVean said yesterday.
He said the issue had become a national concern faced by all of the islands in the Bahamas.
Mr. MacVean made the statement in response to a story in The Tribune on Tuesday which revealed that a family from England has called on British police to travel to the Bahamas to launch an investigation into the death of their two-year-old boy who was struck and killed by a speed boat while on a beach on Paradise Island in 2002.
The BHA president said that mandatory insurance requirements to cover all motorised water sports operations and strong enforcement regulations are needed.
Mr. MacVean said that the BHA was very concerned about the situation surrounding the child’s death and is trying to assist the government in preparing legislation to manage and control the water sports industry.
“Often concerns regarding the water sports industry, popularly known as the ‘the jet ski problem’, are primarily aimed at this small segment, it should be noted that concerns relate to all motorised sports – banana boats and parasailing. legislation needs to be quickly implemented to protect the safety of visitors in hotels or those who came on cruise ships,” said Mr. MacVean.
Source: The Tribune
