‘Reckless’ expat captains @ North Sound
“These expat captains are not using the required safety precautions when running through the harbour at full throttle, which is wrong. It is illegal I cannot emphasise this any stronger,” insisted a concerned resident.
The captain was contacted by this news site following similar complaints made by a concerned resident of the North Sound area who claims to fear the worse as the population of expatriate boat operators has seen a substantial growth as of recent.
According to the captain, he recently suffered as a consequence of an expat captain leaving a named port at high throttle. “He has his high profile license but they coming down here and thinking that it’s all and well to do as they like showing off because they have high profile customers on board. Most of them love the speed but one of them only yesterday nearly cause my boat to get damage up and this is not something new, ports need to address this thing now or something serious is going to happen up here then they will say nobody complained.”
The person who first brought this concern to Virgin Islands News Online had said, “The next thing when they get into accident and people would lose their lives or whatever the next thing you hear is that the captain skip town.”
“There was a captain who was in an accident and we inquiring and all we hearing is that he skipped town… the captain who claimed the lives of two people and leave others seriously injured, all you hearing is that he skipped town. Our people would have had to face the law, DPP would have ensured that for sure, now two lives gone and very likely they would not get any justice, their lives just gone and the captain is very likely to continue with his license untouched in another jurisdiction,” alleged the resident.
The resident and other captains in the North Sound all expressed that the way the captains are operating their vessels through the Gorda Sounds make them prone to accidents. “They are doing it wrong, I don’t care what tonnage their license might be, you don’t leave no port at full throttle, somebody need to caution them.
No one from the BVI Ports Authority could be reached for comment up to post time.
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13 Responses to “‘Reckless’ expat captains @ North Sound”
Come on, expat and local captains alike to this bull$*** so why pick on one set? THEY ALL need to abide by the laws and take being on the sea water more seriously, especially at nights.
I'd also like to note that it is "some" expats who are reckless, not all. There are plenty of locals doing stupid things in the North Sound and elsewhere too. The marine police need to make their presence known in the various anchorages such as The Bight at Norman Island, Soper's Hole, Cane Garden Bay, Trellis Bay, White Bay and Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke. They need to start giving hefty fines to those who do not adhere to the law.
You never know, it could be another revenue stream for the marine police so they can hire more cops and put more patrols out on the water.
Its not just an expat thing.
How many times do we hear the go fasts out at night and not a running light in sight. Lets be proactive.