By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The operator of Blackbeard’s Revenge yesterday asserted his crew did “everything” to save the life of a passenger who jumped overboard amid criticisms levied by a US Coast Guard investigation.

Tony Knowles, chief executive of Pirate’s Revenge, which operates the pirate-themed tour boat, told Tribune Business his team had been left “traumatised for months” by the way in which Cameron Robbins disappeared as he pushed back against US criticisms that The Bahamas conducted no real probe into what happened on May 24, 2023.

Asserting that the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) carried out an “extensive investigation” into Robbins’ apparent drowning, with himself and individual crew members meeting officers “multiple times” to provide assistance, he argued that suggestions no probe occurred - and that this nation was non-cooperative - were “far from the truth” as the findings were provided to the US embassy.

The US Coast Guard report, dated July 2, 2025, but only just publicly disclosed, levies a number of criticisms against Blackbeard’s Revenge, its crew and The Bahamas’ wider maritime safety and regulatory regime. It asserts, for example, that the pirate-themed vessel’s “safety management system (SMS) did not match the capabilities of the crew and equipment” on board when Robbins jumped off the ship.

And the report also claimed that the boat was “under-manned”, alleging that the captain “asked a passenger to take the helm” - which she did for ten minutes - while the Blackbeard’s Revenge “was drifting so he could go forward and drop the vessel’s anchor”. Other discrepancies, including differences between the vessel’s passenger capacity on its safety inspection record and registration list, were cited, too (see other article on Page 1B).

Mr Knowles, though, rejected these and other criticisms detailed in the US Coast Guard report. Refuting claims about the “absence or inadequacy” of safety briefings, and the lack of controls over selling alcoholic drinks on board, he asserted that such briefings had been provided to guests ever since 2019 and that liquor distribution complied with all Bahamian laws and regulations.

The Blackbeard’s Revenge owner then told this newspaper that the vessel had “actually retrieved” Robbins after he jumped overboard, just outside Nassau Harbour in the vicinity of Athol Island, on what was supposed to be a two-hour excursion for several hundred graduated US students.

He explained that the crew immediately reacted to what had happened, performing a ‘man overboard’ manoeuvre with the vessel to go back and rescue him. Life-saving rings were promptly thrown to Robbins, who grabbed hold of one only to ultimately “let go and swim away” never to be seen again.

Mr Knowles, disputing and dismissing any notion that a shark attack was the cause of Robbins’ disappearance, blamed his apparent death by drowning on him being “dared” to jump overboard by other students on the boat as part of a possible “bet”. He asserted that Robbins seemingly let go of the life ring and swam away after being “jeered” by some of those watching not to come back on board.

Questioning what Blackbeard’s Revenge and its crew were supposed to do when someone effectively refuses to be rescued, Mr Knowles added that the situation “breaks my heart” and both himself and his employees are “deeply saddened” by an incident that “still bothers” them to this day.

Recalling how Robbins’ death, and assertions of a shark attack, received constant international media coverage for three straight weeks in early summer 2023, the Blackbeard’s Revenge chief said the negative publicity has had a devastating effect on the operation and the livelihoods of himself and his 16 staff.

Asserting that business volumes have “taken a nosedive” ever since, Mr Knowles said the vessel is now “parked” and he is unsure whether the company will continue in business due to the fall-out from events just over two years ago.

“The company did everything in our power to do the right thing, and it’s sad we lost the guy. It still saddens us today. It breaks my heart even now, and it’s negatively impacted our operations in a major, major way,” Mr Knowles told this newspaper. “Business has never been the same.

“We’re to the point now where the ship is parked and I’m not sure if we will continue in business. We did nothing wrong. There’s been so much negative exposure that business has taken a nosedive. It’s sad, the position I am in today. Right now, today, the ship is parked and staff, the way of life, the means of support for family members, that’s non-existent today.

“We’re talking about 16 staff. It was a huge negative impact on the company, huge.” The US Coast Guard report conceded that the main factors leading to Roberts’ disappearance was his “intentional jumping” off Blackbeard’s Revenge while under the influence of alcohol, plus his “lack of attempts... to swim towards the vessel “or the two life rings thrown in his general direction”.

However, the document also cited “the lack of appropriate safety equipment”, with the vessel’s safety management system referring to the use of “a small rescue craft carried on board” despite the fact none existed or were present. And there was a “lack of oversight for signs of intoxication of passengers on a crowded vessel”, the report suggesting “timely intervention could have prevented this tragic accident”.

Mr Knowles, though, told Tribune Business that safety briefings for passengers were “standard” on Blackbeard’s Revenge from 2019 with persons warned about alcohol consumption and not to sit or stand on the railings. And the vessel was also in compliance with all applicable Bahamian laws and regulations.

“All those protocols were dealt with. All the protocols, safety, alcohol, were followed,” Mr Knowles asserted. “The reality of it was the young man was placed on a dare for $50..... What they did not say [in the report] was that we actually retrieved him. He had a life-saving ring in his hands.

“We did a manoeuvre, man overboard, turned and came around, threw him a life ring, he got it and then let go and swam away from that life ring.” The US Coast Guard report effectively conceded that there was no evidence Robbins was attacked by a shark, with Mr Knowles yesterday confirming that he and other maritime veterans had drawn a similar conclusion.

“The reality is that he [Robbins] let go of the life ring. He let go. Our gang ramp was lowered into the water to retrieve him. It was just a terrible experience. He sadly swam away in the darkness. We had him. The crew and team of Blackbeard’s Revenge adhered to all protocols and did everything we were supposed to do,” Mr Knowles told Tribune Business.

“What do you do when someone swims away from life support? Our crew and team were traumatised for months. It was very sad. The crew and team of Blackbeard’s Revenge is deeply saddened by those events. It still bothers us. We did everything in our power to retrieve him and stop it becoming a nightmare. It’s a very, very sad story.”

The US Coast Guard report said the Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) did not probe Robbins’ disappearance itself because it “determined that the cause of the casualty was a deliberate act by jumping overboard”. As a result, because the incident was deemed “intentional” on the deceased’s part, it decided not to investigate.

As a result, the US Coast Guard decided that as a marine safety investigating state (MSIS) it would conduct its own investigation - especially as the incident involved a US citizen’s death. However, Mr Knowles suggested it was “kind of a little bit of a slander” against The Bahamas to imply that an “investigation was not carried out or that there was a cover up”.

“That’s far from the truth,” he told Tribune Business. “They carried out an extensive investigation, asking questions about how many life vests and life rings we had, and what did we do. The police officers did their due diligence clearly, and everything they asked for they got.

“I don’t know what their findings were but they did their job. I went there and assisted them multiple times. Me and the crew, we assisted them. All of that was reported to the US embassy and the powers that be.”