Private Jet Ski operators in Jamaica are being urged to register their personal water craft (PWC), as is required by law.According to the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ), last year it intensified its call for owners and operators to have their vessels registered early in the new year of 2014.The MAJ issued the call in mid January, before the most recent fatal accident involving a Jet Ski in Negril.The MAJ says Jet Ski operators who have not yet registered are strongly urged to go to that body to complete the process. It says after registration, arrangements can be made soon afterwards, “to have The Authority’s competent surveyors and marine inspectors carry out an inspection on the vessel at a suitable location.”Late last year several operators in the Mammee Bay area of St Ann as well as others in Negril had their Jet Skis seized by Customs acting with the cooperation of the police.That came following incidents earlier in the year in which persons were reportedly injured and at least one killed in Jet Ski accidents.However when the Jet Skis were seized the authorities raised issued about whether they had been properly imported and Government Customs and other fees paid. Questions were also raised about whether the operators had proper licences to operate the skis.North Coast Times could not establish if all those Jet skis had been returned.The MAJ said in a release that guided by the Shipping Act of 1998 it has “legal obligations to ensure that all eligible marine vessels, which include PWCs, operating in Jamaican waters are registered, and to ensure that they operate in a manner that is safe and environmentally friendly.”
