Port Authority Extends Condolences Following Death of Teen

Following the death of the teenager, Axel Oroman, the Belize Port Authority issued a statement extending condolences to the family of the 14-year-old.  The agency took the opportunity to remind the public about critical maritime safety regulations as under Belizean law, operating any personal watercraft, including jet skis, requires a valid Certificate of Competency. Additionally, all jet skis must be properly registered and licensed with the Belize Port Authority. Equally important, the agency underscored the life-saving importance of wearing life jackets at all times while operating or riding a personal watercraft. Echoing the warnings of the BPA was the Commander of the Belize Coast Guard, Rear Admiral Elton Bennett.   

Elton Bennet, Rear Admiral: “The regulation governing jet skis is that the individual should have an operators permit and also that the jet ski should be registered watercraft. Those are the regulations that govern that. In this case the 14 year old would not have a license to operate a jets and also I was made to understand that the jet ski itself was never registered wit the relevant authority at the port. So it was out of regulations in many different areas.”

The vessel that Oroman boarded was for a client who had contracted his cousin to carry out some maintenance.