For a lot of cruisers crusing to the Bahamas, swimming with sharks within the tropical waters is on the prime of their bucket record. However there’s at all times a danger concerned when interacting with wild animals.
One household discovered this the exhausting manner after their younger son was bitten by a shark throughout a preferred shark tank expedition within the Bahamas. The tour has been briefly closed within the wake of the assault.
Shore Tour Closes After Shark Assault
The possibilities of being attacked and killed by a shark are low, solely about one in 4 million. There’s by no means been a guest-related shark incident at Blue Adventures by Stuart Cove since its opening in 2006 – that’s, till Monday, January 15, 2024.
The up-close and private shark experiences, run out of the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort within the Bahamas, has been briefly shut down pending an investigation after a 10-year-old boy was bitten throughout his swim within the shark tank.
It’s unclear if his household was within the water with him, however the boy was accompanied by a dive teacher and dive information when the incident occurred.
In line with an announcement from the Royal Bahamas’s Police Power, the boy was bitten on his proper leg shortly earlier than 4 p.m. native time. “He was transported to the hospital for medical consideration and is at present in secure situation. Investigations are ongoing into this incident.”
The unidentified boy was transported again to his dwelling state, Maryland, on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, the place he’ll obtain additional remedy. He’s anticipated to make a full restoration.
Cruisers hoping to swim with sharks on an upcoming go to to Paradise Island, which is barely a pair miles from the favored port of Nassau, may have to choose a brand new shore tour, because the shark diving expedition has been briefly closed following the assault.
Blue Adventures by Stuart Cove, which operates the expertise, launched an announcement on January 17 saying they’ve opened an investigation into the incident and are “totally cooperating” with native authorities. The tour won’t reopen till the findings have been reviewed.
“Incidents like this involving interactions with marine life, even with the species of sharks included on this expertise, are uncommon and by no means acceptable,” mentioned the corporate.
Shark Diving Within the Bahamas
Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas provides a wide range of port adventures, together with snorkeling, scuba diving, snuba, boat charters, and naturally, shark diving. The corporate has partnered with Atlantis Paradise Island for the reason that early 2000s to supply watersports and animal encounters on the Bahamas resort.
The shark tank expedition the sufferer participated in is a part of the Mayan temple space of Paradise Island’s Aquaventure Zone. In the course of the expertise, contributors wore particular helmets to breathe underwater whereas they acquired up shut and private with nurse and reef sharks.
The shark tour has since been faraway from the resort web site, however many different shark-related shore excursions can nonetheless be booked on common web sites like TripAdvisor, by means of corporations like Unexso, Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Middle, and Aquaquest escapes.
Carnival Cruise Line additionally provides its personal Shark Encounter & Snorkel Tour at Blue Lagoon Island, simply three miles from Nassau, beginning at $119.99 (USD) for youths and $129.99 for adults.
Learn Additionally: A Cruise Newbie’s Information to Shore Excursions
In the end, it’s as much as every cruiser to find out if shark diving is correct for them or if one other shore tour would swimsuit them higher. Whereas shark assaults are uncommon, this boy was not the primary shark chew sufferer within the Bahamas.
In September of 2022, a 58-year-old lady visiting Nassau as a part of a Royal Caribbean Cruise died after she was attacked by a bull shark throughout a snorkeling tour.
Extra lately, a 44-year-old lady from Boston, named Lauren Erickson Van Wart, was killed in a shark assault whereas paddleboarding within the Bahamas in December of 2023. Wart was lower than one mile from shore when the shark bit, fatally wounding her.
