West End port on Tortola and Wilmoth Blyden port in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Photo: VINO.

Over the several decades since this route was formally established, persons have generally shopped up on an ad hoc basis, many times, literally minutes before the ferries depart. On occasion, ferries have been known to turn back for some latecomers, inconveniencing the majority.

This practice is not tolerated when travelling by air however, and flyers know they are bound to check in up to an hour before the scheduled aircraft departure time, although some check in agents have also been known to be slack concerning this safety requirement.

Now, with this announcement coming in a notice from the Department of Information and Public Relations on Tuesday, the BVI Ports Authority, which manages all sea ports in the territory, all ferry passengers bound for the United States Virgin Islands have been advised that they must arrive at the port of departure at least 30 minutes prior to the ferry’s departure.

The BVIPA said this is in compliance with international security standards and would also facilitate faster processing of required documents for the timely departure of the ferry.

For more information, persons should contact the BVI Ports Authority via telephone 494-3435.