NASSAU, Bahamas — The U.S. Embassy in Nassau issued a warning to travelers on Monday: “Avoid renting jet skis in the Bahamas.”
That’s because embassy officials say there’s a “lack of enforcement of safety regulations,” which has led to crashes and reports of sexual assaults.
According to the embassy, multiple American woman have reported being sexually assaulted by Jet Ski operators over the past few years.
“Some victims reported that male jet ski operators sexually assaulted them after soliciting them for Jet Ski rides from the small islands just east of Paradise Island, downtown Nassau and Paradise Island beaches,” the embassy states. “This includes the area from Junkanoo Beach to Saunders Beach and Cabbage Beach.”
The rapes happened on “isolated islands near Nassau.”
Six Americans have been hospitalized from personal watercraft crashes since 2024, according to the embassy.
Because of the risks, U.S. government employees working in the Bahamas are prohibited from renting Jet Skis on New Providence and Paradise islands, the embassy states.
The embassy warned Americans to be wary of solicitations from Jet Ski operators in and around Nassau.
The Bahamas: The U.S. Embassy in Nassau advises U.S. citizens of the risks of operating or accepting rides from operators of jet skis due to the lack of enforcement of safety regulations in The Bahamas. The U.S. Embassy in Nassau has received several reports of jet ski operators… pic.twitter.com/ZTvHKk1v7U
— TravelGov (@TravelGov) June 15, 2026
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