By KEILE CAMPBELL
Tribune Staff Reporter
kcampbell@tribunemedia.net
A NEW safety manual has been prepared to handle jet ski operations and other maritime activities, it has been revealed.
The news comes after a jet ski accident in Grand Bahama that left a 20-year-old woman from the US with upper body injuries.
Acting Port Controller Berne Wright said the manual is intended to enhance safety measures across the board. However, its release has been delayed due to pending internal processes.
According to reports, on Sunday, a US visitor was struck by a jet ski operated by an adult male while participating in a water activity and is currently listed as being in stable condition at the hospital.
Police investigations are ongoing. However, Mr Wright said he had no update on the incident as it is early in the investigation.
He said the Port Department works with the police for non-fatal incidents, while the police and coroner lead in cases involving fatalities.
In June, 25-year-old Dishon Russell was found unresponsive in waters near Coral Beach after a wave knocked him off the jet ski he was operating.
In July, police launched a search for a jet ski operator who fled the scene following an incident at sea that resulted in injuries to two women after a jet ski collided with the women who were on a banana boat in the waters of Goodman’s Bay.
Responding to concerns about the number of jet ski accidents, Mr Wright acknowledged the frequency of these incidents.
“If you’re in this environment, things happen, you know, accidents happen every day,” the acting port controller said.
Comments
bahamianson 3 weeks, 2 days ago
Need a manual for bus drivers and car drivers, aslo. Need a code of conduct for preist , pastors, policemen and women, teachers whom sleep with students, politicians whim look out for themselves, family , friends and lovers , and the beat goes on. We all need to go to the priests and pastors to hear the good word.
AnObserver 3 weeks, 2 days ago
Oh, a safety manual, that is sure to solve the problem!
SP 3 weeks, 2 days ago
🤣.....😂 Yeah, right!
Sickened 3 weeks, 2 days ago
Like these fella's can read. LOL. Better to get Ice Cube to make a tiktok video on this if you want our youth to have any interest in it. Maybe Phil Stubbs can put it in a song?? Other than that, this manual is as useful as cheap toilet paper.
ThisIsOurs 3 weeks, 2 days ago
Another manual?
ThisIsOurs 3 weeks, 2 days ago
Letter to the Tribune August 2016 by "Concerned Vistors"
WE ARE lucky enough to have visited The Bahamas many times over the years, but during that time we have watched Cabbage Beach deteriorate from one of the most beautiful beaches in the world into a very compromised stretch of seafront.
One obvious reason is the multitude of noisy, smelly, dangerous jetskis and other motor craft. We have seen the jetskis repeatedly breach the safety barriers and it is probably only a matter of time before they slice a snorkeller’s head off.
But, perhaps even worse for The Bahamas’s long-term tourism prospects, an ominous change to the seabed appears to be well advanced for much of the length of Cabbage Beach.
Underwater, away from shore, the undulations of pure white sand soon give way to a yellow-brown encrustation. Above water, the limitless aquamarine vista of the past has been reduced to just a narrow strip close to shore, succeeded by a murkier discolouration which has no place in Bahamian waters.
Unless there has been a major oil spill, could it be that the constant drip of oil from dozens of engines, day after day, year after year, has left a permanent layer of pollution on the Cabbage Beach seafloor?
We have recovered several samples of sand and water and, while they are awaiting analysis, their disgusting appearance does nothing to dispel this suspicion.
While we appreciate that the operators of pleasure craft are just trying to make a living, perhaps employment could be shifted towards providing non-polluting, non-motorised watercraft, such as kayaks and stand-up paddleboards. Otherwise, beautiful Cabbage Beach may just become a memory, as will the tourists.
DWW 3 weeks, 2 days ago
agreed. but we got a manual now!
Dawes 3 weeks, 2 days ago
All well and good, but until the law is enforced it won't matter. And this is another item that no one will pay attention to. We won't do anything until a fatality happens. Then it will be to enforce the law for a day or two (maybe longer if a tourist) and then back to normal until the next time.
rosiepi 3 weeks, 2 days ago
Right, these fellas that don't bother to get permitted, carry insurance, train and/or drug test their operators are going to read a manual?? Why not take the expense of this latest book of toilet paper, the time and monies spent writing up such lunacy and hire an inspector??
DillyTree 3 weeks, 2 days ago
Wonderful idea!
But will it be enforced? And by whom? With real consequences? Or will this be yet another "fix" that is business as usual?
realitycheck242 3 weeks, 2 days ago
Acting Port Controller Berne Wright needs to be fired because he can't seams to clean up potters cay and remove those sunkin vessels
SP 3 weeks, 2 days ago
🤣 I call BULLSHYT!
I am totally ashamed as a Bahamian to watch tourist interacting with some jet ski, hair braiders, and other beach vendors. I certainly would not have any dealing with these animals!
So which ONE of the below "F' average jet ski operators is going to TRANSLATE the new "safety manual" to the low life bunch of hooligan jet ski operators?
Let's get real for just once. The root of the problem is the Bahamas government and ministry of tourism are allowing the lowest of the low, dumbest of the dumb, and MOST ignorant of the ignorant, to be front line in the tourism industry!?!?
What serious resort destination in the world would allow a "herd" of absolute, total idiots, to represent their front line in the most vital sector of their economy?
These jet ski guys are so stupid, they are a danger to themselves!
The GOVERNMENT needs to step in and make it MANDATORY that anyone working in front line tourism is firstly presentable, educated to C level or above, and has PASSED the Bahamas Host program at an above average score.
It's not like sensible people are not available to fill these jobs. Given the right pay incentives, higher quality individuals will be very happy to work in the jet ski industry.
The ministry of tourism continues doing the one step forward two steps backwards meringue with the number one industry and lifeblood of the economy!
Make it make sense. The PLP and FNM have unquestionably proven, beyond any doubt whatsoever, that they have absolutely NO IDEA how a resort destination functions.
It is no wonder cruise ships advise passenger NOT to get off in Nassau!
bahamianson 3 weeks, 2 days ago
Well said!!!!
DWW 3 weeks, 2 days ago
ban them all. unregulated drivel that is annoyance to everyone else. why do jetskis always attract the lowest rung of intellect?
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