Man beaten in brawl on tour boat, No Man's Land

A BRAWL aboard Cool Runnings glass-bottom boat over the weekend spilled onto No Man's Land, leaving visitors to the typically peaceful Tobago in shock.

Videos of the incident went viral on social media, showing a man holding a cutlass during an altercation with another man on the upper deck of the vessel. Three men were later seen severely beating the man on the boat.

In the background, the owner of another popular tour boat could be heard on a speaker urging his passengers to get on board to leave.

"All for (name called), get on meh boat now, please. All for (name called). Yuh see that kinda badness thing..."

The brawl later spilled onshore with a man holding a cutlass fighting in the sand with another man as a vendor was seen barbecuing chicken less than two metres away under a tent.

A bleeding man, hair covered in sand, was later seen washing out the blood in the clear seawater.

"Why they doing that? Look how they beat up that guy. They chop him," a woman was heard saying.

In a statement posted to social media, the management of Cool Runnings said none of the people in the video is employed by Cool Runnings Reef Tours or affiliated with the company.

"We are aware of a video currently circulating on social media involving an incident at No Man’s Land...The footage shows a group of young men, some of who ran onto one of our vessels during the commotion...

"We do not condone violence or disruptive behaviour of any kind. This incident does not represent who we are, nor the standard of service and safety we uphold in Tobago’s tourism industry."

It urged authorities to conduct a full investigation and take any necessary action.

"As always, we remain committed alongside our partners to ensuring that Tobago remains a safe, welcoming, and world-class destination for all visitors and locals alike."

Violence aboard reef tour boats is not uncommon in the recent past.

In August 2024, a tour boat captain was stabbed at No Man's Land during an altercation with another man.

In March 2023, two reef tour operators began fighting in front stunned tourists at the Nylon Pool. According to sources, the boats collided owing to rough seas, which triggered the escalation.