Marine Office Chief Phuriphat Teerakulpisut made the comments yesterday (November 4) after seeing one photograph of a jet-ski operator riding at high speed towards the shore and almost collided with a surfer, and another of another jet-ski operator landing on the beach after narrowly missing a group of children.
“If jet-ski operators do not follow the rules laid out by officials, there will no longer be jet-skis operating on the beaches,” warned Mr Phuriphat.
“We have already set zones for jet-skis at the beaches. There are 286 jet-skis in total operating on the island, most of which [about 90 per cent] belonging to local villagers, not big companies,” he added.
The marine chief immediately assigned officers to look into the actions of the jet-ski operators at Surin Beach, ordering them to warn the jet-ski operators of the consequences if they did not adhere to safety standards and regulations.
“If they continue to ignore the regulations, I will have no choice but to ban all jet-ski operators on the beaches."
Asked about restrictions on parasailing and other adventurous beach activities, Mr Phuriphat said the existing laws were very old so they did not necessarily take into account modern-day beach activities.
“Even if we propose changes to the laws, they will take a long time to be approved,” he said.
Mr Phuriphat conceded that the popularity of jet-ski riding among foreign tourists meant that a balance had to be found between allowing tourists to enjoy adventurous beach sports such as jet-skiing while at the same time maintaining safety standards.
“The best we can do at this stage is to enforce licensing regulations and give safety advice. All operators of jet-skis, as well as boats and other adventure sport activities, must have licenses,” he stressed.
The Marine Office has published brochures advising tourists to always wear life jackets and to keep within speed limits when operating or riding on motor boats and jet skis.
“Jet-skis should be ridden between 300 and 800 metres from the shore – away from high waves closer to the shore,” said Mr Phuriphat.
New regulations would be issued soon, he said, adding that fully comprehensive insurance cover for boat and jet-ski operators would be among the new stipulations.