The confirmation follows Phuket Marine Police issuing a warning that people caught operating a jet-ski without the correct licence, technically a Helmsman Class II licence, faced a fine of B1,000-10,000 or up to six months’ imprisonment.
The warning also cautioned that any person caught operating an unregistered jet-ski faced a fine of up to B10,000.
“If the jet-ski is rented from an operator, the client does not need to have a driver’s licence,” Lt Col Jeerayut said.
“The client will not be arrested as they had rented it. The person who must hold the driver’s licence is the [rental] operator of the jet-ski,” he continued.
However, people who own and ride their jet-skis are not exempt. They must have the correct licence in order to operate the jet-ski and the jet-ski must be registered, Lt Col Jeerayut said.
“Privately-owned jet skis can be registered at the Phuket Marine Office and the [driver’s] licence can be done at the same office,” he said.
The warning was issued on Friday (Mar 17) after jet-ski rental operators at Bang Tao Beach were caught renting out jet-skis with expired registrations.
The jet-ski operators now face a fine of up to B10,000.
Lt Col Jeerayut said Marine Police officers have stepped up their inspections of jet-skis in tourist areas.
“A team of officers has conducted inspections at several beaches already, on Mar 16-17,” he said.
“Patong Beach, Naka Island, Siray Bay and BangTao Beaches were all inspected, and they arrested six jet-ski operators for both not having the correct licence to operate jet-skis and for having licences that had expired,” Lt Col Jeerayut confirmed.