The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

PARLIAMENT yesterday began debate on amendments aiming to better regulate the water sports industry, among them a fine of up to $5,000 and/or one year suspension of a certificate for inadequate safety provisions.

A fine of up to $5,000 or as many as two years in prison for failing to register and licence a watercraft is also a feature of the new amendments.

One of the amendments also increases the fine from $75 for any person using an unregistered motorboat to $2,000.

The changes are outlined in a Bill for an Act to Amend the Commercial Recreational Watercraft Act and a Bill to Amend the Water Skiing and Motor Boat Control Act, which were debated in the House as a compendium yesterday.

Once passed, the changes will create legal penalties for an operator who refuses access to an inspector or fails to cooperate with the inspector’s instructions. The fine will not exceed $2,500 or one year suspension of the certificate of registration or both.

There is also a requirement for submission to the government of engineering plans where individuals decide to build vessels.

And in the event of a mishap, the amendment makes it mandatory for operators to have proper insurance.

Further, the minister of transport and aviation can also set a maximum number of crafts to be registered in the country.

Transport and Local Government Minister Renward Wells told the House a clampdown is needed given increased visitors to the country, which now stands at around 6 million annually.

He said the new provisions were also expected to counter the perception that the water sports industry is lawless.

The Commercial Recreational Watercraft Amendment Bill makes provisions for the registration of crafts and licensing of all operators and requires mandatory information on applicants to include their electronic contacts like emails.

Mr Wells said this was necessary for effective communication in the modern era with watercraft operators and all persons concerned in the industry.

Further the amendment provides guidelines and requirements to register with the authority any crafts operated and let for hire in the port area in which the craft operates.

He said this provision will also correct the anomaly that certain incidents expose where individuals build and operate craft for commercial purposes without submitting a detailed engineering plan for that boat.

The authority will also have rights under the Bill to deny the renewal of a craft licence where an applicant has been convicted of an offence in relation to driving or use of craft and in the opinion of the authority suggests that the applicant is not suitable to be a registered owner.

As for fines and penalties, clause 10 of this Bill “creates offences by the owner of a craft who operates or lets for hire an unregistered or unlicensed craft or who lets for hire a craft to an unlicensed operator.”

It also states: “An individual who commits such an offence is liable to summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.”

Regarding the Water Skiing and Motor Boat Control (Amendment) Bill, Mr Wells said it helps to beef up the government’s enforcement arm to ensure proper regulation of the maritime industry.

Among its features is the extension of the definition of who an authorised officer is or who an enforcement officer in the recreational water sports business is.

It defines an “authorised officer” as a member of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, any port enforcement officer of the New Providence Port Authority or Port Department and any officer authorised under Section 38 of the Local Government Act, Mr Wells said.

This will allow for those islands where there is no port officer present to allow the local government agent on that island to act in that capacity to ensure compliance with our maritime law requirement.

Under this amendment the fine of $75 for any person who uses an unregistered motor boat will be increased to $2,000.

A new section will be introduced for the appointment of safety inspectors. It also defines their functions and power, defines the duty to cooperate with the inspection process and defines the power of the authorised officers.

“We will see in Section 11(b) that one of the functions of the safety inspectors will be to inspect a motor boat or any of its machinery or equipment for structural integrity or compliance with the provision of this Act,” Mr Wells said. “This again helps to enhance our capacity to be able to avoid unfortunate minor and major incidents and accidents.”

It goes further to also enforce penalties if an operator refuses access to an inspector or fails to cooperate with the inspector’s instructions.

The fine will not exceed $2,500 or one year suspension of the certificate of registration or both.

If an operator is aggrieved, the Bill further provides an avenue for fines and penalties to be appealed.

These new regulations are thought to be in direct response to the June 30, 2018 explosion on board a 40-foot chartered Exuma tour boat with 10 passengers and two crew members.