Two American tourists were injured in a jet ski accident over the weekend in waters near the RIU Resort on Paradise Island, The Bahama Journal has learnt.
But police and officials of the hotel were short on details regarding the accident, although The Bahama Journal learnt that the visitors were rushed to hospital after the two jet skis they were operating collided.
Reports are that at least one of them was seriously injured in the collision.
The accident renewed focus on the need for a properly regulated water sports industry in the country.
Speaking with The Bahama Journal on Monday, President of The Bahamas Hotel Association Earle Bethell said that for some time the Association has been working with the Ministry of Transport and Aviation to help with the formulation of draft legislation that would regulate water sports operations around various hotel properties in New Providence.
“We understand that a draft has been done which we will go over with them,” he said. “The main thing is we need to have this in place as soon as possible. There are just too many accidents happening. One is too much, believe it or not, especially in the light of the condition that the guests are left in.”
Mr. Bethell pointed out that a major concern of the Hotel Association is that water sports operators generally do not have proper liability insurance.
Oftentimes, the properties outside which the accidents occur are liable for damages, he indicated.
The issue is something that Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin has assured that her Ministry was working aggressively on. But she was not available on Monday to give a progress report on the formulation of legislation. Ms. Hanna-Martin, like most current government ministers, is all talk and no action. She has been promising to “work aggresively” on this matter for over two years.
Human rights groups have been calling for legislation and an incident last year has caused international shame on the Bahamas for its callous handling of a little boy’s death on Paradise Island.
On Monday, Mr. Bethell said, “There have been cases in the past where the individual properties have been sought after by lawyers abroad, which could be quite costly for an affected hotel property,” he said. “We need to ensure that proper insurance is in place and that there is orderly operation by these operators.”
According to officials of The Bahamas Hotel Association, hotel operators do not wish for these water sports operators to operate behind their hotels.
“We need to look at water sports operations away from our properties like a park setup where there can be persons from government who can oversee jet ski operations like routes, processing customers and obeying rules and regulations,” Mr. Bethell said.
He said at recent seminars some water sports operators expressed their interest in conforming to new regulations.
“The Ministry was working at trying to ensure that insurance companies entertain these operators as far as giving them policies, ” Mr. Bethell said. “It’s something new and quite costly.”
By: Stephen Gay, The Bahama Journal
