The U.S. Embassy in Nassau issued a security alert on June 15, 2026, advising all American citizens to avoid renting jet skis in the Bahamas, citing sexual assaults, injuries, and one fatality tied to unlicensed operators.
The advisory follows the late 2025 death of Alaska Air National Guard 2nd Lt. Robert Rosa, killed on vacation in Nassau after being struck by an unlicensed operator driving an unregistered boat off Paradise Island. Since August 2024, six U.S. citizens have been hospitalized from jet ski accidents, and three required emergency medical evacuation to the United States.
The embassy has recorded seven sexual assaults of U.S. citizens by jet ski operators since 2024, with three in 2024, two in 2025, and two already in 2026. Male operators solicited female victims for rides before transporting them to isolated islands near Nassau where assaults reportedly occurred, according to the advisory.
In a public service announcement video, U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas Herschel Walker said rogue operators are soliciting tourists at Nassau’s most popular beaches, including Junkanoo Beach, Saunders Beach, and Cabbage Beach. “We’ve lost American lives to preventable accidents. Multiple visitors have been hospitalized,” Walker said. “Americans have also been sexually assaulted by jet ski operators who take victims to isolated islands.”
🚨 SAFETY ALERT: Ambassador Herschel Walker has an important message for Americans visiting The Bahamas: Jet ski rentals pose a serious risk of injury, death, and sexual assault. U.S. gov’t employees are banned from renting them — and you should avoid them too.
Watch. Share.… pic.twitter.com/zgxSTEjdmh
— U.S. Embassy Nassau (@USEmbassyNassau) June 15, 2026
The advisory comes despite the Bahamas Port Department issuing a compliance notice in March 2026 under the Commercial Recreational Watercraft Act that barred operators from accompanying guests and required designated staging areas.
That same month, Walker urged Bahamian authorities to act “without further delay” on safety reforms. The embassy’s June advisory signals those measures have not changed conditions on the ground.
The Bahamas currently holds a Level 2 “exercise increased caution” travel advisory from the U.S. State Department, citing violent crime including armed robberies and sexual assaults.
