A BermyNET promoter who organised a booze cruise which turned into a riot said the weapons used to stab women on the last Friday were not smuggled on board, but were ordinary objects turned to an unlawful use.

And Brenton Richardson, owner and proprietor of BermyNET.com, said he had no way of knowing or preparing for the carnage which occurred on board the boat.

It was reported yesterday that Deep Dale Bouncers manager Kendricks Zuill said up to 30 people were not searched and were already on the boat when he arrived because they had been vouched for by Mr. Richardson.

But a statement released by Mr. Richardson?s lawyers at Juris Law Chambers said: ?It is our understanding that any items which were used in an inappropriate way were acquired by patrons from among objects which were lawfully on board the boat and were designed for lawful uses, except that those who were bent on disrupting the event seized these items and turned them to unlawful uses.?

Mr. Richardson said there is no evidence that any item was smuggled onto the boat and used to inflict harm or disturb the peace.

Several fights erupted almost simultaneously, he said, and the Deep Dale Bouncers did all they could do to try and get the situation under control.

He thanked the bouncers for placing themselves at great risk, but said he could not take responsibility for the violent behaviour of some of BermyNET?s patrons.

He said patrons at his events are expected to behave themselves. ?We do not condone violence or disruptive behaviour at any of our events,? he said.

He denied that the people he let on the boat first were involved in the fighting.

?We understand that a small minority of persons may have boarded the vessel prior to the arrival of a full security contingent, but these persons were primarily support staff and affiliates for that evening?s events,? he said.

?We would like to point out that, to the best of our knowledge, there has been no suggestion that any of the people who were granted preferential boarding status were in any way involved in or responsible for any of the unsavoury acts committed on that evening.?

BermyNET had no reason to believe anything would be out of the ordinary on the MV last Friday, he said, which was why additional bouncers were not hired.

He said BermyNET is as disappointed as everyone else that last weekend?s cruise was corrupted by the inappropriate behaviour of a minority of individuals.

Underage persons sneaked onboard using fake identifications, he said.

?We would also like to point out that security was instructed to search boarding patrons and, to the best of our knowledge, they did so,? he said. The searching of females is a delicate matter, he said, and this incident may highlight that a more aggressive stance must be taken towards future searches.

?BermyNET.com would like to apologise to its patrons and the Bermudian public for the events of July 1, 2005,? he said. ?The calamity which ensued on that regretful evening has now precipitated a review of our operating procedures and we expect that some changes will be made to our event policies in due course.?