The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

and YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporters

Royal Caribbean is reported to have temporarily suspended through Thanksgiving Day all passenger excursions to Blue Lagoon Island in the wake of last week’s tragic boat sinking.

Cruise industry media reported over the weekend that Royal Caribbean is fully refunding passengers who had pre-booked tours to the popular tourist getaway destination off New Providence’s coast following the incident in which an elderly American visitor died.

“We are currently working with local authorities to evaluate the boating incident that took place during a shore excursion. In light of the incident, we have decided to cancel all Blue Lagoon tours through November 23, 2023,” the cruise line was reported to have told impacted passengers. “We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused by this. Please know your safety is our top priority,”

Sources familiar with developments last night indicated that the reports were accurate, although no official comment could be obtained from Royal Caribbean. It was reported that passengers on 11 vessels scheduled to call in Nassau up to and during November 23 could be impacted by the suspension.

Blue Lagoon, in a statement yesterday, said it has launched a “rigorous, independent forensic investigation” of its own into the sinking of the Island III vessel and tourist’s death. This is separate from the probe being conducted by the authorities, with the tourist destination asserting: “We have never experienced anything like this in more than 30 years.”

Noting that the vessel “encountered rough seas” and became partially submerged, Blue Lagoon again voiced its “deepest condolences on the tragic loss of a passenger”. It added: “In the more than 30 years that our company has been in operation, we have never experienced anything like this.

“As a result, we have launched a rigorous, independent investigation in addition to giving our full co-operation and working closely with the Bahamas Maritime Authority, the Bahamas Port Department and the Royal Bahamas Police Force.”

All commercial ferries in Blue Lagoon’s fleet have been suspended from operating “pending a safety review by the Port Department and The Bahamas Maritime casualty investigators” so, with access to the destination either halted or severely curtailed, it was last night suggested that Royal Caribbean’s action was little surprise.

However, the timing of this incident and repercussions could hardly be worse for Blue Lagoon from a financial perspective, given that it coincides with Thanksgiving Day and the subsequent weekend holiday when tourist and cruise traffic is likely to be greater than normal.

Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business “there’s nothing to be overly concerned about at this time” in terms of any reputation damage for this nation as a destination due to the Blue Lagoon incident. He added that the “proactive” response of the authorities will help mitigate any negative fall-out.

“Listen: The safety of visitors and Bahamians alike is paramount in the minds of the BHTA,” Mr Sands said: “The Association obviously extends its sincere condolences to the family. I think the appropriate government authorities will do a thorough investigation into this matter.

“I think their proactive approach in that manner will mitigate any negatives from this one incident. I don’t think there’s anything to be overly concerned about at this time. The BHTA supports the Government’s position on regulation and safety, and ensuring entrepreneurs in the tourism space operate to the very highest standards and things are put in place so that these measures are lived up to.”

However, video of the sinking has gone viral, and has been widely reported on and played by TV stations and media organisations across the US, along with allegations by passengers that vessel staff panicked and did not help them as it began to slide beneath the waves.

Adoni Lisgaris, the Bahamas Excursion Operators Association’s president, told Tribune Business that he believes the Island III’s boat captain did everything possible to save the ship but “sometimes things happen”.

Having viewed several videos of the incident, he added: “I guess, because it was bow heavy, the bow filled with water and it looked like he [the captain] increased the throttle to try to bring the bow up. If that had happened to me, I would have done the same thing as well.

“It’s really hard to avoid. I’m not sure if you saw the video with the woman who said that the captain was doing tricks, but the boat I saw, you can’t do tricks on that boat. I’m not sure of what all happened, but clearly the bow filled with water. How the water got in there, I’m not sure and it could be a number of things.”

Mr Lisgaris said that, based on what he saw, the Island III’s captain “did all that he could” and “many other captains would have done the same thing”. He added: “Things happened so fast. A lot of other reports said that the weather was a factor, but where they were that area is protected. The weather had nothing to do with that. This was just something that happened.....

“A few months ago there was another excursion boat that flipped and sank. It’s not a common issue, but this is even more reason why we have to make sure that these boats are regulated. This is why regulation is so important because had it been an unlicensed and unregulated commercial vessel, with insufficient life saving equipment, the situation could have been drastically different. As you can see in the video every passenger had a life vest on.”

Lieutenant Commander Berne Wright, the Port Department’s acting controller, said both the vessel and its captain were fully compliant with regulations governing the sector. He added that the vessel was licensed to carry 200 people, but had 145 on board, and had the required number of life preservers.

“The vessel is registered at the Port Department,” he said. “The captain is licensed. The registration is current. Insurance is up to date. The registration process includes an inspection, so the vessel would have been inspected and is due for another one next month.”