It's unbelievable what minors come up with just to get their hands on a jet ski for a little while. With the help of technology, they even forge their IDs to rent a speedboat—from altering their photos to changing their dates of birth. They even go a step further; as “Fileleftheros” reports today, they go so far as to wear fake beards to convince others that they’re adults.
“They take a photo of their ID card or passport, and then, with the help of technology, they alter their date of birth. This is observed throughout Cyprus; it was, so to speak—if I may use the term—an imported phenomenon. In other words, we used to have this problem mainly with foreigners, but now we’re seeing it with Cypriots as well.”
Dimitris Hatzidimitriou – President of the Pan-Cyprus Association of Water Sports Owners
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
They still show up with an adult whom they “claim” as their father so that he can certify that they are adults. However, when asked to co-sign a binding declaration certifying that the person who will be operating the jet ski is an adult, they leave.
“If we suspect that what they’re showing us doesn’t match reality, we insist that they provide us with the original documents so we can verify them—that is, show us an ID card or a driver’s license. That’s where the requirement for a driver’s license comes in. Not that a driver’s license is necessary to operate a boat or a jet ski—it’s just that you must be over 18 to hold one.”
Dimitris Hatzidimitriou
Speedboat Owners
The association has expressed serious concerns regarding the rental of speedboats by their owners. As the association’s president explains to Alpha, this phenomenon is leading private owners to rent out their speedboats due to the increased cost of maintaining them.
“They’re easily tempted to rent these boats to third parties, and when they do, they lack both the qualifications and the knowledge—as well as any legal obligation—to inform the renter about safety rules, and unfortunately we see these incidents at sea where we observe people with absolutely no knowledge of basic safety rules operating the vessels.”
Dimitris Hatzidimitriou
As he notes, these problems can only be addressed if all parties involved—business owners and customers alike—treat this activity with the proper care and seriousness.
Watch the report by Nasia Ioannou:
