Below Deck Med’s new Bosun put Season 8 at risk with forged documents investigation

Simone Torn

Below Deck Med saw Boson Ruan Irving leaving the show early after allegedly forging his certificates.

Day one of Below Deck Med season 8 has been anything but smooth sailing for Ruan Irving. The bosun was met with skepticism by Captain Sandy after learning that his certificates were allegedly forged.

To get started, Ruan needed to provide an original copy of his medical license as opposed to the photocopy he offered instead. Furthermore, his Yachtmasters certificate turned out to be false since the ticket showcased another man’s face who looked nothing like Ruan.

As a result of the alleged forgery, his actions could have gotten the entire vessel “detained.”

Bosun Ruan from season 8 of Below Deck Med put crew members at risk

When Captain Sandy learned of Ruan’s allegedly forged paperwork, she was understandably infuriated.

“You have got to be freaking kidding me,” Captain Sandy said during her confessional. “This is someone else’s picture on Ruan’s certificate.” Outraged, The Captain added, “This is major, this is like a whole different level. This is not okay. The entire vessel could be arrested because of one crew member.”

Of course, fans of Below Deck were utterly shocked by this turn of events which has never been seen before in the course of the Bravo show’s history.

Some viewers were skeptical of the incident, though, claiming Ruan served as a “production plant” to stir up drama.

“That’s definitely a production plant,” one fan suggested on the Below Deck Subreddit. “They verify certifications because they actually send the green crew members to get their certification if they don’t have them. That’s how Malia and Adam met her first season.”

Another fan chimed in, questioning the whole situation. “So did production know everything about Ruan with the fake certs and still let him on??” They asked. “There’s no way they could have known, this is just dangerous?? Or am I giving production too much credit and they did in fact know and left it for the ~drama.”

“This has got to be set up,” another fan suggested.

Stay tuned for all-new episodes of Below Deck Med only on Bravo.