By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

UNITED States Chargé d’Affaires Kimberly Furnish said the death of a US serviceman in a jet ski accident in New Providence earlier this month was needless and should never have happened, stressing that arrest and prosecution of unsafe operators is essential to protecting American visitors.

Second Lieutenant Robert Rosa, 28, of the Alaska Air National Guard, was killed when a boat struck his jet ski while he vacationed in The Bahamas. His body was flown home on Thursday in a repatriation ceremony attended by Ms Furnish and officers from the US Armed Forces.

In a statement, the US Embassy said Rosa was not at fault in the incident and confirmed it has asked Bahamian officials to investigate and “pursue justice for his family.”

“This was a needless accident, and it shouldn’t have happened,” Ms Furnish told reporters. “Anytime the safety of a US citizen is at risk, we’ll be there, and my mantra is: not one more — not one more death, not one more sexual assault of a young US citizen woman.”

For years, the US Embassy has barred its personnel from using jet skis in New Providence and Paradise Island, repeatedly warning American visitors to avoid rentals. The most recent advisory, issued this spring, cited injuries, fatalities and sexual assaults involving rogue operators. In April, police charged a man with raping a 23-year-old American woman near Junkanoo Beach after she rented a jet ski; that case followed another rape report within the same month, both involving unlicensed vendors.

Facing mounting pressure, the Davis administration this year rolled out a suite of fixed-penalty regulations designed to bring order to the sector. Under the Water Skiing and Motor Boat regulations, people face $1,500 fines for operating unregistered motor boats, entering restricted zones or driving at dangerous speeds. Failing to wear a flotation device, operating after dark, refusing access to officers, or failing to display a vessel’s registration each carry $1,000 penalties.

The Boat Registration regulations impose $1,500 fines for operating unregistered or uninsured vessels, offering craft for hire without inspection or acting as an unlicensed boat master. Using expired registration or refusing inspection brings $1,000 fines, as do violations involving mandatory tracking transponders.

The Commercial Recreational Watercraft regulations introduce penalties ranging from $500 for operating uninsured or unregistered craft to $5,000 for concealing foreign ownership. Operators face $2,500 fines for reckless conduct or transporting passengers outside designated zones, and $1,000 fines for breaching licence conditions or working within 200 feet of the shoreline. Authorities — including police, Defence Force officers and Port inspectors — now have the power to impound and dispose of non-compliant vessels. It is not clear whether any action has been taken under the regulations.

Ms Furnish welcomed the reforms and pointed to cooperation with US agencies, including training programmes and task force work involving the Port Department, police, tourism officials and hoteliers. She noted Baha Mar executive Robert Sands has been a vocal advocate for centralising and regularising the industry.

However, she stressed that rules on paper are not enough. “The United States won’t stop in its endeavour to help keep Americans safe and we think regulation is necessary, but arrest and prosecution of those who break those regulations is absolutely necessary,” she said.