New Rules and Fees for Boats in the BVI

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

... Beware the sharks on land...

FWIW: According to Jimmy Buffet:
They hang out in the local bars,
And they feed right after dark ...
... Just behind the reef are the big white teeth
of the sharks that can swim on the land ...

[Zanshin]

I'm not a Parrothead but have to agree with him on this one!

[nancytdp]

Hello,
The regulation says vessels belonging to foreign governments are exempted from payment of harbour charges unless carrying cargo for freight or passengers for fare. I think they are targeting foreign vessels making money in their waters not the private cruising yacht.
Happy Sailing!

[LakeSuperior]

Last charter in the BVI's was about 5 years ago, off season in June. Moored with over 70 charters (I counted) in the Bight. Non-stop partying by a minority was the rule. At 3:00 AM they (the party'ers) starting burning the furniture from the resturant. By 4:00 AM they were lost and touring the harbor using echolocation to find their boat.

The next morning ~8:00 AM, warm, spectacular, I was primed for a morning swim with that yes!!! I'm here feeling. Then did the math, 70 charters times maybe 4 heads per charter is 280 flushes into the harbor. Realize that many charter yachts did not have holding tanks at that time or if they did they weren't used. Discretion was the better part of valor...I made coffee instead.

Bottom line: we don't care what fees they charge we won't be back or stopping off in the future, that paradise is lost.

[wind rose ll]

Was it not the BVI's that passed a law requiring on persons aboard boats to wear life jackets at all times??What happened to that one?
Dave

[Rubikoop]

This article was in yesterdays paper. The direct link is The Virgin Islands Daily News - A Pulitzer Prize Winning Newspaper



BVI Ports Authority putting harbor charges into effect July 1
Daily News Staff
Monday, June 16th 2008


TORTOLA - The British Virgin Islands Ports Authority will enforce harbor charges effective July 1.
Harbor charges are levied on vessels entering and remaining in the territorial waters or using a Ports Authority facility.
Under the new fee structure, vessels will be charged $1 per foot for the first day, $0.75 per foot for the second day and $0.50 per foot for the third day.
Vessels using Ports Authority facilities will pay $1 per foot of vessel length per day.
Boats less than 15 feet and ones that are home ported in the BVI are exempt from the harbor charges.
In 1991, the Ports Authority awarded a contract to a Canadian firm Sedley & Co. to study the authority's financial situation and it recommended a fee structure that would ensure the economic viability of the organization.
The regulations went into effect on Jan. 1, 1997, but never were enforced.
Minister for Communications and Works Julian Fraser said in a government statement that the Ports Authority has been unable to realize its true revenue potential for some time because of its failure to collect harbor charges.
"The Ports Authority is a statutory organization that is self-funded and responsible for the development and maintenance of infrastructure of significant financial and economic value," he said. "It is necessary therefore, that the Ports Authority is able to assess and collect user fees in order to remain viable."
Copies of the amended regulation detailing the harbor charges and exemptions can be accessed at VIRGIN ISLANDS OFFICIAL GAZETTE or obtained from the Passport Office on the ground floor of the Central Administration Complex on 33 Adminstration Drive.

[Southern Star]

Thanks Rubicoop - certainly makes it clear that the fees will apply to all foreign registered vessels (except of course ones owned/operated by soverign foreign states, which would be exempt under international law). That is a significant amount of money if you are planning on anchoring out and using your dinghy for shoreside trips to restaurants and bars, or for provisioning (however limited in the BVI's).

Anyway, I suspect that for every dollar gained in direct taxation they will loose several times that in onshore spending/clearance fees by people who will now choose to go elsewhere.

Brad

[Therapy]

So, to visit for a month in my imaginary 34' boat would cost (in addition to the other fees still there + the $1.50 a day estimate from the Cruisers Forum thread) $525.50. In my imaginary 40' Manta it would cost $630.00. And now the Manta is 42ft - AAARRRRRrrrrrrrr!

If other nations decide to "imbibe" of the same "spirits" then my spirits will sink to an even lower level than yesterday or the day before. "The Dream" will remain just that, a figment, a mist, a vapor, but no longer life sustaining as it has been.

[Vasco]

Just skip the BVI. It's saturated with charter boats and mooring buoys.

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by Therapy

<snip>
In my imaginary 40' Manta it would cost $630.00. And now the Manta is 42ft - AAARRRRRrrrrrrrr!

Relax, Therapy. Fees on imaginary vessels are paid in imaginary dollars!

TaoJones

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by TaoJones

Relax, Therapy. Fees on imaginary vessels are paid in imaginary dollars!

TaoJones

You are too kind.
My day has been made.

[Rubikoop]

I plan on being in the BVI waters from June 28th-July 6th. It will be interesting to see if and when the fees are charged. I wonder what would happen if some one is trying to clear out and doesn't have an extra hundred bucks to do so. Would you have to stay? If you just left would they nail you when you came back? It would seem to me that they do not really want anybody other than locally registered boats to be in their area. I would rather just have them raise the mooring ball rate if they need to increase revenues, the vast majority of people would pay extra without whining much. Time will tell. If nothing else, this could be a boon for St John and St Thomas.

[donradcliffe]

They will just confiscate your boat, like they have for non-BVI boats caught fishing without a license.

Its a shame that the BVI has gone greedy. The cruising there was better than the USVI, which is not boat-friendly and where the eco-terrrorists have prohibited anchoring in St John. Now there will be more boats in my favorite nearby place, which will go unmentioned...

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

<snip> . . . Now there will be more boats in my favorite nearby place, which will go unmentioned...

St. Croix? Vieques, Culebra and the Spanish Virgins?

TaoJones

[Hud3]

I ran across an update on the new BVI Harbour Fees.

Because of the widespread confusion on how the fees would be applied, a short notice meeting was called by the BVI Minister of Communications & Works, Customs, Ports Authority and VISR for representatives of the BVI yacht charter sector and marina operators.

Here's the bottom line: beginning 15 July, 2008, every boat coming and going in the territory will be required to pay port fees of $1.00 per foot for the first day in BVI waters, 75 cents per foot for the 2nd day and 50 cents per foot for EVERY day in BVI waters thereafter. Customs are expected to be collecting these fees.

It looks like private yacht owners not flagged in the BVI and non-BVI charter boats are going to be paying substantial fees for the privilege of plying the azure waters of the British Virgin Islands!