The Bahamas has been named the most dangerous cruise destination in the world.

According to a list compiled by United States maritime attorney Jim Walker and released earlier this week, The Bahamas tops the list of 10 countries deemed to be the most dangerous countries for cruise ship passengers.

On his www.cruiselawnews.com website, Mr. Walker admitted that his list is not scientific in nature and is based on empirical evidence.

The list, he added, is anecdotal in nature based on information he receives from cruise passengers who contact his law firm complaining about being a victim of crime in a port of call.

He said based on the complaints from cruise ship passengers around the world, The Bahamas has received the most.

“We have been warning about crime in Nassau ever since we started this blog in September 2009,” he wrote on the website. “In October 2009, two vicious robbers robbed a group of 11 terrified cruise passengers from a Royal Caribbean ship by gunpoint in Nassau.

“In November 2009, 18 cruise passengers were robbed during excursions from Royal Caribbean and Disney cruise ships. Crime has gotten worse in Nassau. We receive more complaints about crime in Nassau than all of the other ports in the Caribbean combined. Armed robberies, sexual assault of teenagers and young women, and the murder of tourists makes this port a dangerous place to take your family. The second you step off the cruise ship you’re likely to be offered drugs. The U S State Department has issued multiple critical crime warning for the Bahamas.
The Bahamian archaic legal system is indifferent to the plight of U.S. crime victims and the country is inept at solving crimes in port or on Bahamian-flagged cruise ships.

On his website, Mr. Walker has written numerous blogs about crime in The Bahamas and at one time even wrote that “The Bahamas was one gunshot away” from seeing all cruise lines pull the plug on their services to the country.

He also wrote another in the past entitled, “A Cruise Passenger’s Perspective: Local Newspapers in Nassau, Bahamas Paint Grim Image of Armed Robberies and Murders” in which he called on all cruise lines to advise their passengers about crime in the country.

At the time he wrote: But the truth is that Nassau is far more dangerous than Miami, or New York, or Los Angeles, or even Detroit which is the murder capital of the U S. In terms of armed robberies and murders, a U.S. citizen cannot travel to a more dangerous city in the U.S. compared to Nassau. And unlike these U.S. cities, Nassau is dependent on tourists arriving by cruise ships. The Miami-based cruise lines are finally talking about pulling out of Nassau if such high crime affecting their guests doesn’t improve.

Mr. Walker said he has selected dozens of local front page stories of murders and crime in The Bahamas and have posted them to his site for the world to see.

When news first broke that Mr. Walker had been publically blasting the country for its crime situation, he was accused of being one-sided and biased in his reporting.

After The Bahamas’ number one ranking, Honduras, Venezuela and Guatemala were ranked second, third and fourth, respectively.

Mexico, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua, the U S Virgin Islands and El Salvador round out the list.

Jim Walker is described on his website as a maritime lawyer in Miami who has attended more than half a dozen Congressional hearings about cruise ship crime and passenger safety.

He has been involved in cruise ship law and maritime litigation since 1983.

Based in Miami, Florida, Mr. Walker is a well known international maritime lawyer in the U.S.
He represents passengers and crew members injured or assaulted on cruise ships around the world.