The Mar­itime Ser­vices As­so­ci­a­tion of Trinidad and To­ba­go yes­ter­day called for the in­tro­duc­tion of stricter leg­is­la­tion and tougher penal­ties for breach­es of jet ski op­er­a­tion pro­to­cols, say­ing de­ci­sive ac­tion is need­ed to de­ter reck­less be­hav­iour and pre­vent fur­ther loss of life.

The as­so­ci­a­tion ex­pressed deep sad­ness over a trag­ic jet ski in­ci­dent on Wednes­day that claimed the life of sev­en-year-old An­gel­i­ca Jo­gie. It ex­tend­ed con­do­lences to the fam­i­ly and loved ones af­fect­ed, say­ing the loss has caused pro­found grief with­in the mar­itime com­mu­ni­ty.

The as­so­ci­a­tion said the in­ci­dent high­lights the ur­gent need for stronger en­force­ment and reg­u­la­tion of jet ski and oth­er recre­ation­al wa­ter­craft op­er­a­tions in Trinidad and To­ba­go’s wa­ters. It warned that un­reg­u­lat­ed ac­tiv­i­ty con­tin­ues to pose se­ri­ous risks to pub­lic safe­ty.