A controversial plan to raise fees on foreign-based charter boats that operate in the Virgin Islands has been delayed after “intense” talks between Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley and United States VI Governor Albert Bryan Jr., Mr. Wheatley said.
The premier made the announcement following “vigorous” discussions between the two leaders in Tortola on Friday in the wake of a heated public exchange which saw Mr. Bryan threaten damaging sanctions against the VI and the premier accuse the neighbouring territory of “bullying.”
After the meeting, both men tried to tone down the tension during a brief joint statement, to which the media was not invited.
“A lot has been said in the media back and forth, but I have always had faith and trust that when we come together we will have a nice joke and we will laugh together, and then we will have intense discussions,” the premier said. “Governor Bryan certainly represented the interests of the US Virgin Islands robustly, and of course I did the same on our side.”
However, Mr. Wheatley made it clear that no resolution to the dispute had been reached.
“While we were not able to reach any firm conclusions today, we made a commitment to go back and to be able to crunch the numbers to ensure that we maintain equity, and we made a commitment to equity in the relationship,” he said. “We will reflect the true cost of being able to do the business for BVI-based boaters and make sure that USVI boaters — that there is something that is fair in comparison to what our BVI boaters pay.”
In the meantime, Mr. Wheatley said he is pausing the Commercial Recreational Vessels Licensing (Amendment) Bill, 2024 — one of three bills the House of Assembly is considering as part of efforts to reform the marine industry.
“I made a commitment not to go back to the House of Assembly and pass this legislation until we came together once more to ensure that we are a lot closer together than we were previously,” he said. “So I would say it’s been a definite success. We would like to pass our legislation by June, which means we have work to do right away because we don’t want to keep our partners in the USVI waiting.”
