The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A senior hotelier yesterday conceded that “more consistent progress in a timely fashion” is needed to crackdown on rogue jet ski operators while also acknowledging that the body charged with overseeing this effort needs to meet more frequently.

Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president, revealed to Tribune Business that the Government’s Jet Ski Task Force met yesterday morning - just one day after Herschel Walker, US ambassador to The Bahamas, called for it to be fully “activated” as he and his embassy warned all American tourists against renting jet skis during their vacation due to safety concerns sparked by recent deaths, injuries and sexual assaults.

Mr Sands, himself a Task Force member, said that while the group had made an initial “positive impact” towards its goal of a “compliant, safe and secure” Bahamian jet ski industry, the effort had “gone somewhat silent in the last two to three months” and needs to be rebooted.

Pointing to prior Tribune Business reports of fines, arrests and jet ski confiscations, he signalled that policing the industry is challenging and requires “the commitment of manpower” and other resources by the authorities. Mr Sands said The Bahamas’ very geography, featuring multiple beaches and isolated cays, meant that “once you clog up one hole it creates opportunities in other areas” for unscrupulous operators to exploit.

Asserting that the Government’s and tourism industry’s objectives were aligned with those of the US embassy when it came to safety and regulation in the jet ski industry, the Baha Mar chief added that the key is for the Task Force to move forward with its mandate and “achieve an acceptable environment” where visitors are better protected.

Voicing optimism that The Bahamas will “do what is required”, and make the necessary improvements in the short to medium-term given that it is in the national interest to do so, Mr Sands told this newspaper: “The industry’s and US embassy’s concerns are aligned. We are all for a highly compliant, safe and secure jet ski industry.

“There’s no question some progress has been made, but there’s not been a consistent level of progress in a timely fashion. There’s a tremendous amount of work to be done. The industry is committed to ensuring that it is done, and to work with the majority of stakeholders.”

Confirming that the Jet Ski Task Force met yesterday, and will likely release its own response to Mr Walker and the US embassy, Mr Sands added: “It’s reinforcing the sector’s commitment to compliance, safety and also an industry that can be respected. Our focus right now is trying to correct something.

“We had made a positive impact but it’s gone somewhat silent in the last two to three months. It’s time to reinvest energy to achieve the results we have set out to achieve. There have been some victories - confiscations, fines and the arrest of undesirable persons in the industry.”

Warren Johnson, director of visitor safety and security at the then-Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, speaking in October 2025 said there had been 15 arrests, and more than $92,000 in fines levied since July 6 that year, after passage of the Commercial Recreational Watercraft Act and accompanying fixed penalties gave law enforcement authorities the tools they need to seize both jet skis and other vessels from law-breakers.

He added that, in the three months since the Act took effect in July 2025, some 28 jet skis and 41 other vessels had been seized for infractions and non-compliance with maritime laws. “Once those amendments were enacted, we were able to arrest 15 persons for offences on the jet skis,” Mr Johnson said then.

“Forty-one vessels were apprehended for various offences; they were speeding in the [Nassau] Harbour and doing a lot of other stuff, and we also seized 28 jet skis. We issued 69 citations, and the value of the citations that have already been collected is $66,680.

“The value of outstanding citations to be paid to the Treasury is $25,550. The citation total is $92,230 that have been issued since July 6 to-date. As you can see, we have been making progress but there’s still a lot more work to do.”

Mr Sands yesterday told Tribune Business that obtaining the required manpower and other resources to properly oversee the jet ski industry “is certainly an issue”. He added: “Once we clog up one hole, it creates opportunities in other areas. The Bahamas, being an archipelago of islands, there are multiple venues for these things to take place….

“In the last year, with the establishment of the Task Force, it was a very positive first step. We need to ensure the Task Force continues its mandate, continues to meet regularly, continues to achieve results, addresses the primary issues and achieves an environment we would say is acceptable.”

Mr Walker, in his statement on Monday, demanded that The Bahamas take more proactive and rigorous enforcement action to crack down on rogue jet ski operators. “The Jet Ski Task Force that was established last year is a meaningful first step, and we are grateful for it — but a Task Force that does not meet cannot protect lives,” he said.

“I am calling on the Government of The Bahamas to activate this task force, enforce existing regulations, and take the concrete steps needed to bring real accountability to this industry.” Mr Sands, in reply, said that while the Task Force is still meeting this is not occurring regularly enough.

“There’s no question it’s meeting, but the frequency needs to be improved,” he told Tribune Business. “There has to be some additional energy put towards this to go along with the various stakeholder commitments.”

Asked whether The Bahamas is up to the task, and can adequately satisfy US concerns over a popular component of the country’s tourism industry, Mr Sands responded: “I am confident we are going to make improvements in this area. I wish I had a crystal ball to say how quickly this will happen, but I am confident improvements will happen in the short to mid-term.

“It’s in The Bahamas’ interests to do what is required, and I think the stakeholders will do what is required. We must appreciate that the overwhelming negative impact has been on US citizens that make up the most significant percentage of visitors that come to our country, and one must recognise the embassy - as all embassies do - must protect the interests of their citizens wherever they are in the world.

“The bottom line is that all the stakeholders are committed and engaged, and their commitments are aligned with the US ambassador and embassy. I certainly don’t take this as an attack on Bahamian tourism. It’s certainly a recognition of concerns brought to our attention, and we need to be a bit more timely in how we address it.”

The Ministry of Transport, in its own statement responding to Mr Walker and the US embassy, said: “The Government of the Bahamas takes the safety of every resident and visitor seriously. We formed a multi-agency task force on this matter several years ago and this work is continuing.

“We have seen the recent comments regarding water sports activity. We have a great partnership with the US, and we look forward to open collaboration on these matters. The Bahamas has already taken steps to strengthen safety in this sector, including enhancing legislation, providing more resources for law enforcement and increased oversight of operators.

“Our position remains as always: Safety must come first. We will continue working with all partners, including the US Embassy, in a spirit of co-operation to address any concerns in a way that protects our country, supports our tourism industry and safeguards every guest who visits The Bahamas.”

Mr Johnson last year revealed that the Task Force then possessed just 50 percent, or six of the 12, jet skis it requires to police the five New Providence beaches where it has concerns about rogue operators. He added that it was “very concerned” about potential rogue jet ski operators at five beaches – Cabbage Beach on Paradise Island, Junkanoo Beach, Goodman’s Bay Beach, Saunders Beach and Montague Beach.

“One of the first things we did was we engaged two police officers seven days a week at the major beaches where we were having problems,” he added. The beaches targeted were Junkanoo Beach, Cabbage Beach and Goodman’s Bay, and Mr Johnson last October voiced optimism this would be extended to Saunders Beach and Montague Beach. Some 40 law enforcement officers had also been trained to use jet skis.

The US embassy, in an alert that went further than previous jet ski-related warnings, on Monday said: “Decades of inadequate enforcement in The Bahamas’ jet ski industry have fuelled a pattern of preventable tragedies — serious injuries requiring medical evacuations and sexual assaults against US citizens.

“Since August 2024, six US citizens have been hospitalised with injuries from jet ski accidents - three of whom required emergency medical evacuation to the US. In 2025, two US women reported sexual assaults by jet ski operators. In 2026, two additional sexual assaults have already been reported.

“Rogue operators - unlicensed, uninsured and operating unsafe watercraft - continue to solicit tourists on Nassau’s most popular beaches, including Junkanoo Beach, Saunders Beach and Cabbage Beach, as well as near the cruise port and the small islands east of Paradise Island. Oversight by the authorities of these supposed ‘official’ jet ski rental areas is sporadic at best.”

Mr Walker, though, added: “Bahamian business owners and resort operators are ready and willing to be partners in making these waters safer - for tourists, for the Bahamian economy and for the country’s reputation as a world class destination. This is a real opportunity to make a lasting, positive change and the embassy stands ready to support that work.”